Trade Thoughts: Before I speak on the game here are my thoughts on the trade. The Broncos traded Bradley Chubb to the Dolphins for San Francisco's 2023 first-round pick and Chase Edmunds along with a 2024 4th-round pick and 2025 5th-round pick. This, for me, was the right move. With the emergence of players such as Baron Browning, Jonathan Cooper, and Nik Bonitto, the Broncos can afford to trade away edge rushers to build capital for the future. It was imperative that the Broncos somehow someway get an early pick for next year's draft and use that pick to bolster the offensive line. The Broncos also got Chase Edmunds who has displayed the ability to make a couple of big plays every game and the Broncos' current run game has had a lack of explosive plays so he could certainly help. It was sad to see Chubb go because he was finally playing at the level he was before all his injuries but it was the right move long term as the Broncos were most likely going to lose him in free agency anyway after the season.
The Broncos snapped their 4 game-losing streak in a gutsy win vs the Jags in London. The Broncos now go into the bye week with some momentum. In my next post, I will go more into detail on what I think the Broncos could tweak with the extra week off for their upcoming game vs the Titans in Nashville. Let's talk about this win.
The first quarter was more of the same for the Broncos' offense as they went 3 and out in their first drive. Then, on the second drive, Russ threw a very ill-advised interception that helped the Jags go up 7-0. The Broncos once again went 3 and out. The Jags got the ball back and moved the ball down the field once again mainly because of Travis Etienne Jr. because who was fantastic on the day logging 156 yards on the ground on 24 carries with a touchdown. The Jags were on the goal line and were poised to go up 14-0. However, Justin Simmons made one of the greatest plays on the goal line making the best catches I have seen from a safety. Here's the clip:
The Broncos still did not do anything with that turnover as they punted to the Jags once again. The Jags would eventually score again but would only put up 3 so the score was 10-0. The Broncos got the ball back and the offense finally woke up. The offense goes down the field and scores a TD that cuts the score 10-7 just before the half. It seemed on that drive, that the Broncos' offense started to a run much more simple offense with simpler route concepts and dialed-up plays designed to get the ball out of Russ's hand quicker. It was very effective. Even the touchdown play on that drive was not too complicated. It was just a simple touch pass to Jeudy who was running in motion behind the line like a jet sweep.
The Broncos would score on their first possession in the second half on a drive that started at the 2-yard line. On that Drive, Russ was 4/4 for 84 yards and 3 of those passes went to the young stud at tight end, Greg Dulcich, for 78 yards. Dulcich has been incredible so far in his young career and I hope the Broncos continue to find ways to get him the ball. After that drive, the Broncos' offense went into a lull once again with 3 straight drives going 3 and out. The Jags were not much better either and neither team would score until the 3:42 mark in the 4th where the Jags would go up 17-14.
At this point in the game, I had no faith in the offense to go down and score. They just had 3 consecutive drives of doing absolutely nothing and I was ready to see the offense come up short again. Boy was I wrong as right out the gate Russ threw a bomb to KJ Hamler that got the Broncos in Jags territory. Then Latavius Murray started going to work as he began churning up yards getting the Broncos in the red zone. Russ made a key conversion late in the game on 3rd and 5 with his legs. It was good to see Russ finally using his mobility as a threat. Then a few plays later, Latavius Murray punches it in for the go-ahead score putting Denver up 21-17. The Jags have one last chance to take the game back but K'Waun Williams makes an amazing break on the ball and picks it off while wearing a cast. This team made big play after big play down the stretch and hopefully, they can build off this momentum into the latter half of the season.
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