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Week 3 Game Recap: Jacksonville Jaguars 23, Denver Broncos 14
What you need to know
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
The Jaguars enjoyed a significant edge in time of possession, 38:41 to 21:18, thanks to a strong running game and efficient short passing game, and combined that with a stellar defensive effort to come away with the victory. The rushing attempts were distributed fairly evenly, with Fred Taylor having 17 carries, Maurice Jones-Drew 15, and quarterback David Garrard 12, most of which were designed rushes. The three of them combined for just under 4.0 yards per rushing attempt and were the main reasons why Jacksonville was able to control the time of possession. Taylor had the best yards-per carry average with 4.94, and showed good quickness in making defenders miss at times, and good power in dragging tacklers with him on other rushes.
The Jaguars did not attempt many pass plays, attempting 20 passes to 47 running plays. Garrard threw mostly short passes to his receivers. He attempted a few intermediate length passes and completed most of them, and did a fine job of executing the game plan, which also made use of his running ability. Garrard proved to be very accurate, with half of his incompletions either a result of dropped passes or him intentionally overthrowing a receiver. He did not lock in on any one receiver, and distributed his passes fairly evenly among eight receivers. Only seven of his passes were thrown to wide receivers, as he focused more on completing shorter passes to his tight ends and running backs.
Jacksonville attempted 25 plays in the red zone, and ran the ball 19 times. Maurice Jones-Drew received the most work in the red zone with seven rushing attempts and two passes thrown his way, but he was unable to score. The only other players targeted in the passing game in the end zone were George Wrighster whose defender was called for a pass interference penalty, and Reggie Williams, who caught one for a touchdown. Garrard had five running plays in the red zone, while Taylor had four, but fullback Greg Jones scored the Jaguars' only rushing touchdown. Jacksonville had two missed opportunities at the one yard line on separate drives, Garrard spiking the ball on a third down play to stop the clock instead of calling a timeout that he had available which resulted in them having to go with a field goal attempt, and Jones-Drew fumbling after escaping from being tackled for a loss, losing the ball as he tried to maintain his balance and Denver recovering it. Garrard also had a rushing touchdown called back due to a penalty, but passed for a touchdown on the same drive afterwards.
| Denver Broncos |
The Broncos could not stop Jacksonville's running game, and were unable to generate a successful running game themselves, which proved to be significant factors in them losing the game. They had just three possessions in the first half. In large part due to the Jaguars controlling the time of possession, Denver did not have many rushing attempts as they were forced to go to the air in an attempt to score quickly. As a result Travis Henry only had 11 rushing attempts, and although he scored a touchdown, was not a factor running the ball.
Denver took some shots downfield in the passing game, and Jay Cutler showcased a strong arm and good touch on both deep passing plays and the shorter throws. Cutler's favorite target in this game was Brandon Marshall on both deep and intermediate passing plays. Marshall received single coverage most of the game, and was in sync with Cutler who found him on a variety of routes. With the exception of a few passes to Brandon Stokely, Cutler looked exclusively to Marshall for big plays in the passing game, and Marshall came through, not only by catching accurately thrown passes, but by showing very good running after the catch abilities several times.
Denver was efficient when they made it to the red zone, converting two of their three trips into touchdowns. They attempted 11 plays in the red zone with a split of seven rushes to four passes. Henry received four of the red zone and goal line carries, and converted one of them into a touchdown. Cutler's preference for Marshall in this game was also evident in that he was targeted on half of the red zone passes.
Broncos' safety John Lynch left in the first half with an injured groin and did not return. His loss was especially felt by Denver's rush defense, as the Jaguars were able to control the clock by running effectively throughout the game.
What you ought to know
| QB David Garrard, Pass: 14 - 20 - 154 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 12 - 52 - 0 |
Garrard managed the game well by following the game plan of attempting mostly short with some intermediate passes and running very well when his number was called in addition to using his athleticism to evade pass rushers. Apart from the gaffe he made when spiking the ball at the one yard line instead of calling a timeout, Garrard played well and was a big factor in Jacksonville winning. He did not take many risks passing the ball, but was accurate on the throws he attempted. Due to the conservative nature of the play calling, he did not utilize his wide receivers much, as only seven of his 20 passes were directed towards wide receivers, none in the second half.
| RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 15 - 37 - 0, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jones-Drew ran with power but was usually stymied before he could get past the line of scrimmage. However he did show his impressive speed and quickness on some of his kick-off returns, where he had some long returns. Jones-Drew was not usually brought down by the first tackler but Denver's defenders swarmed to him and a second defender usually tackled him before he could use his explosiveness. He did have the most red zone touches of any Jaguars player but was unable to score any touchdowns.
| RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 17 - 84 - 0 |
Taylor ran very well, showing excellent quickness to elude would-be tacklers and dragging defenders for extra yards when he was tackled. Taylor was used mostly on runs up the middle, and showed a willingness to hit the hole hard and grind out tough yards. He had four red zone touches but was unable to score.
| RB Greg Jones, Rush: 1 - 4 - 1 (1 targets) |
Jones' only target was intentionally thrown at his feet, but he did capitalize on his lone rushing attempt by scoring a touchdown. He was used mostly as a blocker.
| WR Dennis Northcutt, Rush: 2 - 9 - 0, Rec: 2 - 37 - 0 (2 targets) |
Northcutt caught both passes that were thrown his way and also ran two end arounds for minimal yardage.
| WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) |
Wilford caught both of the short passes that were thrown to him, but was not much of a factor.
| WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 2 - 11 - 1 (3 targets) |
Williams was used on short routes, with two of his targets coming in the end zone.
| TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 3 - 44 - 0 (5 targets) |
Lewis was used on a combination of short and intermediate routes and ran well after catching the ball. He did drop one ball that was catchable, but showed a propensity to get open and present a good target for Garrard.
| TE George Wrighster, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (3 targets) |
Wrighster was targeted on short passes, including one in the end zone where he was able to draw a penalty on his defender.
| TE Greg Estandia, Rec: 1 - 23 - 0 (1 targets) |
Estandia's contribution in the passing game was minimal.
| PK John Carney 3 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points |
Carney had a perfect game, connecting on both point after attempts and all three field goals, which were from 19, 27 and 18 yards.
| JAX Rush Defense |
The Jaguars rush defense was not tested much as the Jaguars dominated the time of possession, forcing Denver to place more of a focus on their passing game. Although they gave up a rushing touchdown, Jacksonville's defenders stopped most of the Broncos' rushing attempts at or behind the line of scrimmage thanks in part to a determined effort by the defensive line and linebackers. This was exemplified in the third quarter when they stuffed two short yardage rushing attempts on third and fourth down in the red zone to keep the score 20-7 at that time.
| JAX Pass Defense |
Jacksonville's pass defense was aggressive throughout the game, and although they only recorded one sack, they forced Cutler to show his athleticism to escape pressure and come up with big plays, which he did at times. While Brandon Marshall had a big game, the Jaguars were able to shut down the other Denver receivers for the majority of the game. The defense came up with some timely plays, including stripping a Broncos player after he caught a pass and recovering it, as well as intercepting Cutler late to seal the victory.
| QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 16 - 23 - 222 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - -1 - 0 |
Cutler played well and despite not having many chances, especially in the first half, ended with respectable numbers. Although he did not have much of a running game, he showed confidence in his ability to make big throws and did so in a variety of ways, whether standing tall in the pocket or on the run to escape pas rush pressure. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan showed confidence in Cutler by not punting on a fourth and six play from his own nine yard line and calling a pass play with enough time remaining in the game where he could have given his defense a chance to stop Jacksonville and get the ball back, Cutler threw a strike to Daniel Graham but Graham dropped the pass to effectively end the game.
| RB Travis Henry, Rush: 11 - 35 - 1 (1 targets) |
Henry was unable to get into a rhythm, in part due to a very aggressive Jaguars' run defense, and in part due to not having many opportunities, although he did score a rushing touchdown. He was not involved in the passing game, with his only target thrown at his feet.
| RB Selvin Young, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0, Rec: 2 - 37 - 0 (2 targets) |
Young had more of an impact as a pass catcher than a runner. He showed good running ability and speed by turning both of his targets into good yardage, but lost a fumble at the end of one of his runs.
| RB Cecil Sapp, Rush: 1 - 12 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Sapp's contributions were minimal but he did have a nice run on his only carry.
| RB Mike Bell, Rush: 1 - -4 - 0 |
Bell was not a factor in this game and did not play much.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rec: 7 - 133 - 0 (11 targets) |
Marshall was without question Cutler's favorite target in this game. He used his size and leaping ability on some plays, speed on others, while running good routes to get open. Marshall ran very well after the catch, breaking tackles on most of his receptions. Three passes were deflected from him at the last moment and one was overthrown, or he could have posted even greater numbers.
| WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (4 targets) |
Stokley was not targeted until the second half, and caught everything thrown his way except one pass that was intercepted. He was used mostly on mid-range passes and was able to get open by running good routes.
| WR Javon Walker, Rush: 1 - -2 - 0, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) |
Walker was used on a double reverse on Denver's first play, and then had his first reception called back due to a penalty on the offense. After that he was not involved much and just targeted on two short pass plays.
| WR Nate Jackson, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (1 targets) |
Jackson was targeted just once, and made the most of it by converting it into a short touchdown.
| TE Daniel Graham (2 targets) |
Graham was targeted on two long pass plays, one of which was called back due to a penalty on the offense. The other was towards the end of the game, which he dropped.
| PK Jason Elam 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Elam's contribution was minimal, as his only involvement was kicking two point after attempts, which he made.
| DEN Rush Defense |
Denver's rush defense seemed to be affected by the loss of safety John Lynch, as after he left the game it appeared the Jaguars' running backs had a little more room to operate. Although they did not allow many long runs, the Broncos' run defense was unable to stop Jacksonville's rushing attack from controlling the time of possession.
| DEN Pass Defense |
The Broncos' pass defense was aggressive and managed to sack the athletic Garrard three times, even though he managed to elude their collective grasp at other times. They forced a fumble, which they recovered on one of the sacks, and held the Jaguars' receivers to short gains. Some of the sacks can be credited to excellent coverage by the Denver secondary, as there were times Garrard had time to throw but did not have an open receiver. The combination of excellent coverage by the secondary and a good pass rush by the Broncos' front four, resulted in Garrard having to rely on his athleticism to keep plays alive on several occasions.
