Both these teams began the season with high hopes. Following Week 1, one team is shaken, the other is thinking playoffs.
Denver Broncos
Teddy Bridgewater won the quarterback competition from Drew Lock, and he won the hearts of the doubters with his Week 1 performance. He looked like 2015 Bridgewater, moving in the pocket, making good decisions, and leading the Broncos many weapons down the field.
Denver lost Jerry Jeudy for a few weeks with a high ankle sprain, but the rest of the weapons remain for Bridgewater, and there’s no reason to think that he can’t continue his steady play throughout the season. Including the preseason, he’s been playing great football for more than a month.
That Denver defense is also as good as advertised. Remove a meaningless touchdown on the final play of the game, and the Broncos gave up just seven points. Sure, it was the Giants, but Denver graded out as the third-best tackling team in Week 1, and that skill translates from game to game.
And just in case this really great secondary needed any more help, there is now a healthy Von Miller once again terrorizing the quarterback and forcing bad throws.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Post-Week 1 is known for overreactions, so we don’t want to get too worried about Trevor Lawrence. He threw three interceptions for the first time in his life, and he lost his first regular-season ever, including high school and college. Thus is life in the NFL, where things are never easy no matter how talented you are.
Make no mistake, the talent of Lawrence was evident, even in the blowout loss to the Texans. But what was also evident was the lack of talent around him. The Texans are a bad team, and they dominated the Jags. Jacksonville was actually the favorite to win this one, and that may be the last time that happens for many more weeks.
Urban Meyer also looked out of his depth as an NFL head coach. At Florida and Ohio State, he rolled into each game with the best talent on the field. He is now about to spend an entire season as the head coach of Northeast Florida Tech. How will he respond to the loss last week? How will he respond to the many losses still to come?
This may be the most interesting below .500 team in 2021.
Betting Picks
Broncos (-6)
Tyrod Taylor and the below-average Texan’s offense tore up this Jaguars’ defense, and the Broncos will do the same. Courtland Sutton will have a big game, Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams will find big holes in which to run, and Denver wins this game going away. No way this point spread should be less than a touchdown. Take the Broncos and lay the points.
Over 45.0
Denver alone accounts for 30 points and maybe more if they get multiple turnovers. A late fourth-quarter touchdown for Lawrence puts the Jags up to 20 points for the game and the over hits.