The Jacksonville Jaguars will take on the Denver Broncos this Sunday in a tough road matchup at Empower Field at Mile High. The Broncos will be looking for their first win, while the Jaguars will look to keep up their momentum from their huge AFC South division win against the Tennessee Titans.
The game definitely isn’t expected to be a high scoring affair according to BetMGM, who has the over/under set at 37.5 points.
Even though the game isn’t particularly expected to be an offensive juggernaut, here are three players on the Jaguars offense to keep an eye on for Sunday’s contest against the Broncos:
WR Dede Westbrook
The talented wide receiver out of Oklahoma hasn’t had the best start to the 2019 season. After posting 164 receiving yards on 12 catches and a touchdown in the first three games of the season in 2018, Dede Westbrook only has 79 yards on 11 catches with a touchdown so far this season.
Sunday’s game against the Broncos could be a chance for Westbrook to break out as star Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. will possibly shadow Jaguars receiver DJ Chark. The Broncos original No. 2 cornerback Bryce Callahan is currently dealing with a foot injury and will miss four to six weeks according to Aric DiLalla of Broncos.com. Broncos third-string cornerback Issac Yiadom will most likely get the start across from Westbrook, who according to Pro Football Focus, is tied at the No. 17 spot in receptions allowed, but it’s worth noting that he has not been targeted much, coming in at the No. 45 spot in the category.
Yiadom currently has a 48.5 grade per PFF. That could lead to quarterback Gardner Minshew II looking his way. Considering this, Westbrook could have a nice seven-reception, high-yardage type of game.
RB Leonard Fournette
Leonard Fournette’s 2019 season has come with mixed results.
On one hand, he has become much more polished as a receiver and already has close to half the amount of receptions (14) as he did during his rookie season of 2017 (36). He also has a respectable 4.1 yards-per-carry average. On another hand, he has yet to reach the end zone this season which is disappointing seeing that he has no other competition for goal-line carries.
Sunday’s matchup against the Broncos could be the game where Fournette finally gets that first touchdown as the Broncos are tied for second in the league in giving up rushing touchdowns.
OT Cam Robinson
The Jaguars’ offensive line is much more improved with Cam Robinson back in the trenches.
Robinson’s debut after battling a knee injury resulted in a solid performance (minus his penalty), as he and the entire Jaguars unit did not give up a sack. He will now be tasked with holding his own against All-Pro Broncos linebacker Von Miller. The good thing is that the Broncos do not have a single sack on the year as teams have done a good job of slowing down Miller with double teams and chip blocks. The Broncos’ other top edge rusher, Bradley Chubb, has also failed to take advantage of Miller’s double teams and has not gotten consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback.
The argument can be made that the Broncos have too much talent on the defensive side of the ball to continue with their sack woes. It is a tough task to completely neutralize a player of Miller’s level out of the game entirely, but a solid one-on-one performance from Cam Robinson will go a long way into making sure Chubb continues to struggle as well.
