Broncos week 8 recap: A win in London
AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
There was no reason to think Denver was going to pull out a win in London this week. To everyone's surprise; Russell Wilson rallied the troops for a comeback win on Sunday morning at Wembley Stadium, against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After a Jaguars touchdown late in the fourth quarter taking the lead by 3, Wilson had the ball with under 4 minutes left to show Broncos country that maybe fans can trust him with the ball. Wilson found KJ Hamler downfield for 47 yards to start the game-winning drive. Already in the red zone, Wilson himself kept the drive alive with a 10-yard rush on 3rd down. Latavius Murray ran it in for the touchdown, putting the Broncos up 21-17.
AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
Jacksonville had a chance to counter with 1:43 left in the game, but Broncos cornerback K'Waun Williams sealed the game for Denver with his first interception of the season. It was a beautiful final stretch for Denver, possibly the team's best sequence all season.
Russell Wilson finished with 252 passing yards, an interception and a touchdown. Greg Dulcith led the receiving corps with 4 receptions for 87 yards followed by Jerry Jeudy who had 6 receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. Courtland Sutton took a back seat this week, with one reception for 13 yards and a notable dropped pass during the final drive. Latavius Murray and Melvin Gordon also both recorded touchdowns.
The defense showed up as well, intercepting and sacking Trevor Lawrence twice while limiting him to just 133 passing yards. The rush defense lacked slightly, allowing Travis Etienne Jr. himself 156 yards rushing and a touchdown.
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
The game started rocky for Denver, going scoreless in the first quarter as Wilson threw an interception on just their second drive of the game. The defense would then allow a touchdown by Evan Engram but on the Jaguars’ next trip to the red zone, Justin Simmons picked off Lawrence at the goal line
Oddly enough, the Broncos pulled through in the second half as opposed to their usual second-half slip-ups. This might just be the momentum that Denver needed heading into the bye week.
The Broncos need to limit the penalties and become more efficient on third down. Denver collected 10 penalties for 71 yards in the first half and were only 18% efficient on 3rd down. If they can fix those things, there’s a chance for a successful second half of the season.
