Broncos turn 13-3 hole into 20-13 win over Jaguars with 17 straight points

A game that flipped after the third-quarter high point

Jacksonville was the side cashing in first. Bhayshul Tuten’s 1-yard touchdown run at 12:13 of the second quarter gave the Jaguars a 7-0 lead, and after Wil Lutz answered with a 20-yard field goal, Cam Little drilled a 44-yarder as time expired in the half to send Jacksonville ahead 10-3. When Little added a 23-yard field goal at 9:02 of the third quarter, the Jaguars had built a 13-3 cushion without ever needing a huge scoring burst.

That was the high-water mark for Jacksonville. Denver answered before the quarter was over on Lutz’s 45-yard field goal at 4:58, cutting the margin to seven and keeping the game within one clean fourth-quarter turn. It came quickly. Bo Nix found Nate Adkins for a 7-yard touchdown at 11:47 of the fourth to tie it 13-13, and Jonah Coleman’s 3-yard rushing score at 7:21 completed the comeback. From a 13-3 deficit to a 20-13 finish, the Broncos scored the final 17 points and finally made the overall flow of the afternoon show up on the scoreboard.

Nix stayed clean, and Waddle gave Denver its biggest edge

The clearest difference between the teams was how much easier Denver found yardage. The Broncos finished with 392 total yards on 59 plays, a strong 6.6 yards per play, while Jacksonville managed 268 yards on 55 snaps at 4.9 per play. Nix was not flawless — he threw one interception — but 22 completions on 31 attempts for 288 yards and a touchdown is the kind of passing line that usually wins when the quarterback is never sacked. Jacksonville hit him three times but never got him down.

Jaylen Waddle was the biggest reason Denver’s passing game kept threatening to break the game open. His eight catches for 138 yards, including a 49-yard gain, gave the Broncos the most explosive individual production on either side. Adkins added three catches for 32 yards and the tying touchdown, while Coleman contributed in both columns, rushing 10 times for 39 yards and the winning score and adding three receptions for 19 more. Denver did not run away from Jacksonville on the ground — the Broncos averaged 3.7 yards per rush — but they had enough balance to keep the comeback moving.

Jacksonville had useful work from its own skill players, especially early. Tuten’s 65 yards on 13 carries supplied the team’s only touchdown, and Parker Washington was Trevor Lawrence’s busiest option with seven catches for 98 yards on 12 targets. Lawrence finished 17 of 29 for 189 yards, but the Jaguars never found a touchdown through the air and never added to their total after Little’s third-quarter field goal. That is where Denver’s defense deserves real credit: Riley Moss came away with an interception, Malcolm Roach and Que Robinson provided the two sacks, and the Broncos defended seven passes overall. Jacksonville stayed competitive, but too much of its offense wound up in modest gains instead of game-changing ones.

Our take: Denver earned the comeback, but both teams left a clear to-do list

Our take: this result felt earned by Denver more than stolen from Jacksonville. The Broncos led in total yards, yards per play and passing production, and they did it while keeping Nix upright all afternoon. That said, a 392-yard game should have produced more breathing room than seven points. Denver went just 2-for-5 in the red zone and committed 10 penalties for 53 yards. Those are the kinds of numbers that turn a productive day into a tense one. If the Broncos sharpen either of those areas, the next game like this may not require a fourth-quarter rescue.

Our take on Jacksonville is a little harsher because the Jaguars actually had the script they wanted for much of the afternoon: a lead, a productive running game and a defense that hung around. But the offense stopped growing. Jacksonville scored at 12:13 of the second quarter, then managed only two field goals the rest of the way. The Jaguars were 1-for-2 in the red zone, averaged 4.9 yards per play and got no passing touchdowns from Lawrence. Washington’s 98 receiving yards were valuable, yet the attack still needed more than one dependable answer once Denver tightened the game.

In the end, this was a comeback built less on one miracle moment than on the accumulation of better football from Denver. The Broncos threw more efficiently, protected better and finished the final quarter with the only two touchdowns after halftime. Jacksonville showed enough structure to lead by 10, but not enough punch to survive when the game turned into an exchange of execution. Denver’s 20-13 win reflected that balance accurately: not a blowout, not a fluke, just the afternoon’s better overall offense finally catching up to the score.

Scoring moments

1. Period 2 · 12:13

   Bhayshul Tuten 1 Yd Rush (Cam Little Kick)

2. Period 2 · 7:01

   Wil Lutz 20 Yd Field Goal

3. Period 2 · 0:00

   Cam Little 44 Yd Field Goal

4. Period 3 · 9:02

   Cam Little 23 Yd Field Goal

5. Period 3 · 4:58

   Wil Lutz 45 Yd Field Goal

6. Period 4 · 11:47

   Nate Adkins 7 Yd pass from Bo Nix (Wil Lutz Kick)

7. Period 4 · 7:21

   Jonah Coleman 3 Yd Rush (Wil Lutz Kick)