The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Denver Broncos 20-13 on Sunday at Empower Field. After taking a 10 point lead early in the third quarter, the Jaguars failed to score in the last 24 minutes of the game.
“Really it comes down to all three phases in the second half, specifically [the] fourth quarter, we just didn’t win,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said. “We didn’t win it. We didn’t coach it good enough. We didn’t play it good enough.”
Following a strong Week 1 start, quarterback Trevor Lawrence had just 189 yards passing with no touchdowns and an interception. In the fourth quarter, Lawrence only completed one of his six passes.
“As a team, we just gotta be better at being able to kinda gain the momentum back when something doesn’t go right,” Lawrence said. “And for me, obviously, can’t turn the ball over in a crucial situation on third down and give them good field position, so it starts with me.
The first five drives of the game were all punts, with both offenses combining for a total of 85 yards in the first quarter. Coen passed on a 67 yard field goal attempt by Cam Little, who hit a 76 yard field goal in warmups with help from the altitude in Denver.
To start the second quarter, Lawrence hit Brian Thomas Jr. on a 22 yard pass to move the ball right outside the red zone. Two plays later, he found Parker Washington wide open, who went down at the one yard line. Bhayshul Tuten took a direct snap on first and goal into the endzone to open the scoring.
Bo Nix was able to respond on the next drive, throwing to an open Jaylen Waddle for 49 yards to get Denver’s offense to the one yard line. However, the Broncos had to settle for a short field goal to cut the lead to four.
After a Jaguars punt, Denver looked to be in position to take the lead. Nix completed a 20 yard pass to Waddle, then found Tyler Badie and Troy Franklin for back-to-back 27 yard gains. On third and goal, Nix threw to the endzone looking for Courtland Sutton, but Jacksonville nickel cornerback Jourdan Lewis intercepted the pass.
Jacksonville took advantage of the turnover, driving 54 yards to set up a Little field goal to extend the lead back to seven entering halftime. Through two games, the Jaguars defense has only allowed three points in the first half while turning their opponents over three times.
“[The interception] was huge,” Coen said. “We went down right before the half and got points just kind of eerily similar to the last time we were here, where we got a stop and we were able to go down the field and get points before the half, and it gave us some momentum going in.”
On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Jaguars offense drove to the Denver three yard line, powered by 38 yards from Tuten. Denver’s defense held Jacksonville to another field goal to limit the damage.
The Broncos had another productive drive, adding a Will Lutz field goal to answer Little’s. The momentum to Denver’s defense, as cornerback Riley Moss intercepted Lawrence for his first turnover of the season.
“I didn’t have a great feeling right when I let it go,” Lawrence said. “Just trying to take a shot there and get one to Parker there on third down and didn’t go our way and definitely want that one back.”
Denver used the turnover to spark a 10-play touchdown drive, capped off by a Nate Adkins touchdown reception to tie the game at 13. The Jaguars had a good drive going on the next possession, but Little missed a lead-taking 54 yard field goal.
Starting at their own 44 yard line, the Broncos went down the field quickly due to a completion to former Jaguar Evan Engram on Travis Hunter and a pass interference call on Hunter. Coen was also called for an unsportsmanlike penalty after the play, putting the ball at the three yard line. Rookie running back Jonah Coleman scored his first career touchdown in his first game to give Denver its first lead of the contest.
The Jaguars got the ball back with a chance to tie the game, but back-to-back incompletions by Lawrence led to a punt. Denver drained the remaining five minutes off the clock to secure the result, giving Jacksonville its first loss on the season.
Next up
Jacksonville is back at home on Sunday to face the reigning AFC champion New England Patriots. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye lost his second-career start to the Jaguars and through two games in 2026, Maye has thrown one touchdown to four interceptions.
“We got to execute better,” Coen said. “I got to call it better.”
Kick-off against the Patriots is set for 1 p.m. on September 27.