What We Saw: Week 2

Broncos @ Jaguars

Final Score: Broncos 23, Jaguars 13

Writer: Joe Orlofski (@joeorlofski on Twitter)

Rookie Trevor Lawrence struggled in his debut in Week 1, and unfortunately, this one wasn’t much better. Now, this Denver team has a much better defense so it’s tough sledding for any opposing Quarterback, but things are looking bleak in Jacksonville already.

On the other side of the ball, the Broncos have had their own Quarterback struggles in recent years, but so far veteran Teddy Bridgewater looks like they may have finally found the answer.  The Broncos lost a big piece of their offense last week when Jerry Jeudy went down with an ankle injury but Courtland Sutton made up for it in this one.

It did start to rain pretty heavily in the second quarter but it cleared out by the third quarter.  Jacksonville did return a kick in this one, but it wasn’t enough.

Let’s take a look at the fantasy-relevant players, even if there was a lot of disappointment among fantasy players.

Denver Broncos

Quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater: 26/34, 328 yards, 2 TD | 4 carries, 1 yard

Teddy Bridgewater has looked solid so far this season, and he was very efficient in this one.  He did take a massive sack on the first drive on first-and-goal, which killed the drive and forced a field goal.

On the second drive, Bridgewater continued to make solid short passes that extended drives.  He took a deep shot to Courtland Sutton that was his first incompletion, however, Sutton’s jersey was tugged and he easily would have had a touchdown.  There was no DPI called on the play, so Denver was forced to punt.

Bridgewater threw a deep ball to Sutton on the third drive that went through Sutton’s hands and was almost intercepted, so it ended up being a wash.  He then threw another deep pass, this time to KJ Hamler.  Once again it was in his hands but the defense managed to knock it out.

Bridgewater continued his impressive play on the fourth drive, connecting with Sutton twice for long passes.  He finished the drive with a short pass to Tim Patrick that went for a touchdown.

Walk it in, @Tpstreets!

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/aA1B6ba7tr

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 19, 2021

Bridgewater stayed calm under pressure and made the play that went for six.

Bridgewater moved the ball down the field once again with only 20 seconds left.  He once again targeted Hamler over the middle but there was a miscommunication that led to an incompletion.  Hamler broke on the play while Bridgewater thought he was going to keep running straight.

Bridgewater started the second half with a bang, connecting with Sutton again, this time for a 55-yard completion.

Go long, @SuttonCourtland!

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/MMvIHYhPp2

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 19, 2021

This was another beautiful throw by Bridgewater and shows his arm strength, something we aren’t used to seeing.  He polished off the drive with a short pass to Noah Fant that he turned into a 14-yard touchdown (see below).

Bridgewater took a few sacks on the second drive of the third quarter and the Broncos were forced to punt.

The next drive started near mid-field after the interception and once again Bridgewater made short, quick throws and scrambled when needed to keep the drive alive. Unfortunately, he overthrew Tim Patrick on third-and-eight and the Broncos had to kick a field goal.  It was a smart, safe throw that kept the ball away from defenders and allowed them to try to get some points.

Bridgewater made another good throw in the drive after the second Lawrence interception, bringing a third-and-long to a fourth-and-two and made it a much easier field goal opportunity.

Bridgewater now has two straight games with amazing efficiency and solid stats.  He may be a nice addition to a fantasy team that is in desperate need of a Quarterback.

Running Back

Melvin Gordon: 13 carries, 31 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 38 yards

Javonte Williams: 13 carries, 64 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards

Melvin Gordon got the start in this one after a solid Week One outing.  Javonte Williams also saw some work on the first drive, but both backs were mostly bottled up on this one.

Williams continued getting the carries on the second drive, finding room up the middle for a first down.  By far Williams was more efficient than Gordon in this game.

Gordon started the third drive with a one-yard run, once again getting bottled up.

Williams was on the field for the fourth drive but lost six yards on the first carry.  He then caught a ten-yard pass on the next play.  Gordon then replaced Williams.  It seems like the Broncos will use both backs equally for now.

Gordon caught the last pass of the half for a big gain but the clock expired and the half ended.

Gordon started the second half with another short run.  Both Running Backs struggled to find holes in the first half.

Williams got the next drive and showed why he has been so hyped.  Williams had an impressive 15-yard run where he managed to stay on his feet despite looking like he was going to be stopped multiple times.

Javonte Williams is a BOSS.

That’s all.

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/Xly8rn6kOG

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 19, 2021

Williams had another strong run mid-way through the fourth quarter, turning a loss of yardage play into a short gain.  Williams then converted a third-and-eight by bursting through a wide-open hole for a 14-yard gain.  He finished off the game with another strong run that gave the Broncos a game-clinching first down.

Williams by far looked better than Gordon in this one, although Gordon did make a few big plays in the passing game.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Courtland Sutton: 12 targets, 9 receptions, 159 yards

Noah Fant: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 33 yards, TD

Tim Patrick: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 37 yards, TD

Kendall Hinton: 1 target, 1 reception, 15 yards

Albert Okwuegbunam 4 targets, 4 receptions, 24 yards

Eric Saubert: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards

KJ Hamler: 3 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards

Albert Okwuegbunam caught the first pass of the game for the Broncos and has had a pretty good start to this season for a guy no one has really heard about.  He only had three catches in Week 1, but one of them went for a touchdown.

Courtland Sutton seemed to be the main beneficiary of the Jeudy injury, getting a whopping 12 targets, his first one coming on the first drive.

Tim Patrick and Noah Fant also saw a few targets on the first drive.

Sutton and K.J. Hamler saw deep targets on the third drive and could have padded their stats had they held onto the ball.  Unfortunately, the defense made some good plays to knock it out of their hands.

Sutton was hobbled on the third drive but was back on the field for the next drive.  He made two big plays on the drive to move the ball down the field.

Kendall Hinton, who you may remember as the practice squad guy who had to play emergency Quarterback last season, made his first NFL catch late in the second quarter.

Tim Patrick turned a short pass into his second touchdown of the season late in the second quarter.

As mentioned above, Hamler had a miscommunication with Bridgewater before the half ended that could have been a big play.  The announcers stated that Bridgewater is trying to get closer to the young receiver, even requesting to have his locker next to Hamler’s.  It could be a good sign of things to come as they build chemistry.

Sutton continued his huge game with a 55-yard catch that got the Broncos into the red zone.  Tight End Noah Fant caught a touchdown pass on the drive by breaking a tackle and getting into the endzone.

That's how you start the second half. 👊@nrfant | 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/yn7bOQOOb1

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 19, 2021

Hamler caught his only pass on the second drive of the half.  Unfortunately many hoped Hamler would step up in Jeudy’s absence, but it didn’t quite happen in this one.

Sutton continued making great plays in the third quarter.  He caught his ninth pass late in the fourth quarter, ending his day with 159 yards.  As I said before, Sutton looks to take the lead role, with Patrick seeming to get a nice bump as well.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence: 14/33, 118 yards, TD, 2 INT | 2 carries, 21 yards

Trevor Lawrence completed his first two passes on the first drive, connecting with Marvin Jones Jr. and Tight End James O’Shaughnessy.  Lawrence continued to throw accurate balls, including a well-thrown deep ball to the newly added Wide Receiver Laquon Treadwell.  The ball was just out of his reach, otherwise, it might have gone for a touchdown.

Thankfully for Lawrence, he managed to connect with Marvin Jones Jr. for a beautiful 25-yard touchdown on a third-and-thirteen.

Trevor Lawrence is going to be a problem.#DENvsJAX on CBS pic.twitter.com/MMfnTA6YJZ

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 19, 2021

This was a beautifully thrown ball that shows Lawrence has the talent to be a good Quarterback.

Lawrence started the second drive with a short pass to the Running Back.  He made a great pass to Laviska Shenault on third-down but it was in heavy traffic and Shenault couldn’t hand on.

On the third drive, Lawrence once again threw the ball deep and it was called for pass interference.  The ball was underthrown (had he had the distance it probably would have gone for a touchdown).  The drive stalled and the Jaguars ended up missing the 52-yard field goal.

The fourth drive went three-and-out mostly because Shenault couldn’t hold onto a good third-down pass.

It did start to rain late in the second quarter which may have impacted some of the throws. Lawrence connected with Shenault and Chark to drive down the field a bit late in the second quarter.  Lawrence had an open Chark on the drive that could have gotten them in field goal range, but he was too aggressive and threw an incomplete pass deep down the field.  It was a rookie mistake that hopefully will be fixed with some experience.  Lawrence made up for it by scrambling for 11-yards and a first down on fourth-and-long.  Lawrence then had a few incompletions and had to throw the ball away once and the Jaguars ended up missing another field goal.

Lawrence started the second half with a quick three-and-out, including a sack to end the drive.

The next drive got started with a few good runs, but Lawrence made an ill-conceived pass that was read by the defense and was easily intercepted.

.@ReemBoi25 read it the whole way.

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/ytKxh8Uamb

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 19, 2021

Lawrence was almost picked off again on the third drive, but thankfully D.J. Chark played good defense and knocked the ball away.  He followed that up with another dangerous throw as he was heavily pressured and the Jaguars punted the ball away.

Lawrence started the fourth quarter with a deep throw to Marvin Jones Jr. but he was one step short.  The Denver defense tightened after the first Jaguar touchdown drive and it showed.  Lawrence was able to scramble for a first down on this drive.  He then had another almost deep completion to Jones Jr. but overthrew him once again.  Lawrence missed another deep pass that would have ended the drive but a low hit on the Quarterback gave them a first down.  And if all that wasn’t enough, Lawrence went deep once again and rookie Corner Patrick Surtain II made an amazing interception, ending the drive.

WELCOME TO THE LEAGUE, ROOK!

📺: CBS | @PatSurtainll pic.twitter.com/k25jMWRxoR

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 19, 2021

Lawrence, besides the first drive, looked bad in this one.  Now obviously the Broncos are a tough defense, but he made some questionable throws and only completed 14 passes.  The Jaguars have some questions to answer on offense.

Running Back

James Robinson: 11 carries, 47 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 17 yards

Carlos Hyde: 2 carries, 7 yards | 2 targets

The first play of the game was a handoff to James Robinson, who was underutilized in their first game.  Head Coach Urban Meyer stated they needed to get Robinson the ball more, so the first play being a handoff is a good start.  Robinson got a few more carries on this drive, although he didn’t find too much room.

Robinson got his first catch on the second drive but it only went for three yards.  He was used heavily on the third drive.

Carlos Hyde got his first carry midway through the second quarter but did nothing in this one.

Robinson got the first carry in the second half and it looked like it was about to be a huge gain but Kareem Jackson made a great play to avoid the lead block and knock Robinson down.

Robinson got his biggest play of the game on the second drive of the half, gaining 12-yards.  He followed that up with a solid seven-yard gain.

Robinson caught an 11-yard pass on the third drive of the half and then caught a 13-yard pass on the next drive.  Robinson very obviously looked like one of the best players on the Jacksonville offense, but the game script kept him from touching the ball more.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Marvin Jones Jr:  11 targets, 6 receptions, 55 yards, TD

DJ Chark: 4 targets, 1 reception, 19 yards

James O’Shaughnessy: 1 target, 1 reception, 24 yards

Laviska Shenault: 7 targets, 2 receptions, -3 yards | 1 carry, 0 yards

Luke Farrell: 2 targets, 1 reception, 6 yards

Chris Manhertz: 1 target

Laquon Treadwell: 1 target

Tyron Johnson: 1 target

Marvin Jones Jr. seems to have taken over the Wide Receiver one role for the Jaguars and saw the first target in this game.  Laviska Shenault has also seen quite a few targets so far and saw a few on this first drive.

Jones Jr. continued to get a bunch of targets, making a good sideline catch as well as a nice third-down conversion later in the drive.

Shenault got another rushing attempt, this one coming on the first drive, but it was snuffed out for zero yards.  He then committed a false start, which unfortunately didn’t hurt them as Jones Jr. caught a 25-yard touchdown on the next play.

Shenault continued to get peppered with targets throughout the early part of this game, but they were either bad passes or heavily guarded.  This included a deep crossing route that Shenault could have come down with, however, he was surrounded by five Broncos.

DJ Chark go this first target on the third drive, which was the long pass that was called for pass interference.  Chark had his man beat but Lawrence underthrew him.  He saw another target on this drive but it was thrown out of bounds.

Shenault got another target on the fourth drive but it hit his hands and bounced incomplete.  This one was just a bad game for Shenault, although he continued to get targets and a few catches.

Chark caught another pass over the middle with one minute left in the half.

There really wasn’t much to say about the Jaguars’ receivers.  Jones Jr. looked good in the first half and then disappeared.  Shenault was off all game and news has now come out that he injured his shoulder and is getting an MRI Monday (something to watch for).

— Joe Orlofski (@joeorlofski on Twitter)