A pair of 2-5 teams in the AFC will face off on Sunday as the Denver Broncos take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week Eight of the NFL season at Wembley Stadium.
The Broncos are last in the AFC West, having lost their previous four games, while the Jags have also dropped four in a row and sit third in the AFC South.
Match preview
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We are used to seeing the Jaguars lose their share of games in recent regular seasons, but the manner in which they have been defeated so far this year has been very different from previous campaigns.
One noticeable difference in their performances under Doug Pederson has been their ability to stay in games right until the end, falling a yard short last Sunday of potentially defeating the New York Giants, ultimately losing 23-17.
All five of their losses this year have been by a single score, and if they can find some consistency on offence, those results might change.
On the offensive side of the ball, the team from Duval County in Florida have averaged 22 points a game, good for 17th in the league, but not good enough to win any of their last four games as the Jags have scored more than 30 points only once all season.
In 2017, they had perhaps the most feared secondary in the NFL and early into this season, we are seeing their cover unit play well, allowing a quarterback rating of only 84.1, conceding a 6.9-yard average through the air and most impressively, producing nine interceptions.
They have conceded 19.6 points per game, good for 10th in the league, while they are averaging 5.1 yards per carry as a team on the ground.
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In his rookie season as an NFL head coach, Nathaniel Hackett has gone through a tremendous amount of disappointment thus far.
There was a lot of hype surrounding this franchise heading into the regular season, but to this point, they have underperformed, putting the former Jaguars offensive coordinator on the hot seat.
Defensively, Denver have struggled against the run all season, allowing an average of 4.7 yards per carry in 2022, conceding 155 yards on the ground last Sunday in a 16-9 loss to the New York Jets.
However, they have been formidable on the defensive line, sitting third in the NFL for sacks with 22, the most among AFC clubs.
In the secondary, Denver have held opposing quarterbacks to a 74.9 rating, allowing just 5.5 yards per attempt through the air and conceding just three passing touchdowns, while producing four interceptions.
Among the many disappointments that we have seen from this team in 2022, the most significant right now might be their lack of production offensively, scoring only 14.3 points per game, though they have only conceded 16.4 points per contest defensively, which is the third-fewest in the league.
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Team News
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was 22 of 43 last week for 310 yards, as he has completed 63% of his passes this year.
His college teammate at Clemson, Travis Etienne, is now the number one running back after the club traded James Robinson to the New York Jets, receiving a sixth-round conditional pick in return.
Etienne had 14 carries for 114 yards and his first career NFL touchdown a week ago, Christian Kirk had seven catches for 96 yards, while Foyesade Oluokon is in the top five for tackles this season in the NFL with 70.
The Jags could be missing Shaquill Griffin (back), Jamal Agnew (knee), Tyree Gillespie and Snoop Conner because of injuries.
Russell Wilson could be ready to return from his hamstring issue, which kept him out of Denver's previous outing, as Brett Rypien went 24/46 for 225 yards and one interception.
Cameron Fleming (quadriceps), Baron Browning (hip), Mike Boone (ankle) and Caden Sterns (hip) are all questionable with injuries.
Dre'Mont Jones and Bradley Chubb have combined for 10 sacks, while Patrick Surtain has established himself as one of the best corners in the game.
Head To Head
Denver and Jacksonville have split their 14 previous meetings, including two postseason affairs in the late 90s, with the Broncos capturing three of the last four games against the Jags, winning 23-13 last year in Lawrence's second career NFL start.
We say: Jacksonville Jaguars 26-20 Denver Broncos
The strongest and most consistent part of the Jags' offence this season has been their running game, and we expect Etienne to find some big holes against a Broncos defensive unit who struggle mightily at shutting down opposing teams on the ground.
Denver have been under tremendous heat given how much excitement surrounded them in 2022, and while they have an identical record to the Jags, the attention and negativity surrounding Jacksonville is not nearly at the same level as it is in the Mile-High City.
Joel Lefevre
