Broncos vs. Jaguars Point Spread: NFL Week 2 Odds, Prediction
Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars head into their home opener against the Denver Broncos looking for their first win of the season. It looks like it could be a long year for No. 1 overall pick Lawrence, after the Jaguars struggled in last week’s 37-21 loss in Houston. The Broncos come in on an opposite trajectory after beating the Giants 27-13 in New York in Week 1. Can homefield advantage give Lawrence and the Jags a chance at the upset?
Denver is a 6-point road favourite to win on the NFL odds, with a total of 44.5.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
These teams haven’t met in the regular season since Jacksonville’s 26-24 Week 4 win in 2019. That game hasn’t influenced Sports Interaction bettors, who are siding with Denver at an 81 per cent rate. The total is a little more split, with the Over favoured at 58 per cent.
It makes sense that the Over is favoured in this game. Denver finished Over 44.5 points nine times last year, while Jacksonville did it 10 times. For the 2020 season, both teams hit the Over eight times, although only the Jaguars went above the number last week.
Despite a poor 5-11 record last year, the Broncos were a decent cover option, going 9-1 against the spread. Jacksonville only managed to go 7-9 ATS in 2020, but considering they only had one win, that ATS record isn’t as bad as it looks. When playing as a dog of six points or more, the Jags were 7-6 ATS last year.
Denver Broncos
After last week’s win against the Giants, Denver is hoping they’ve finally found a replacement for Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, in Teddy Bridgewater. In his first start with the Broncos, Bridgewater, acquired from Carolina in the offseason, finished 28-for-36 passing, with 264 yards and two touchdowns. Look for Bridgewater to have a huge game against a Jacksonville defence that gave up 37 points to a terrible Houston Texans team in Week 1.
Running back Melvin Gordon III also had a big game offensively, last week. Gordon rushed for 101 yards, including a late 70-yard touchdown, on 11 carries. Jerry Jeudy led the receivers with 72 yards on six catches, but he left early with a high ankle sprain. Jeudy is expected to miss four to six weeks, so Courtland Sutton could see a bigger role in Week 2. Sutton had one catch for 14 yards against Carolina.
Outside linebacker Von Miller played his first game since 2019 in Week 1, picking up two sacks. Miller looks healthy again, after missing all of last year with an ankle injury. Another outside linebacker, Bradley Chubb, missed last week’s game entirely. Chubb was a game-time decision with an ankle injury, so he could be in line to play in Week 2. The Broncos haven’t had Miller and Chubb on the field together since 2018 (29 straight games), so it will be a huge boost to the defence if they both play this week.
Jacksonville Jaguars
You have to be concerned if you’re a Jacksonville fan right now. Not only did they lose to a Houston team that many people expect to finish last in the NFL this year, they allowed the Texans offence to score almost 40 points. If Lawrence’s 51 passing attempts are any indication, the Jaguars are looking to get into shootouts with opponents this year. Lawrence finished the game with 332 passing yards and three touchdowns, but he was also picked off three times. Amazingly, it was the first regular season loss at any level for Lawrence and the first season opening loss ever for head coach Urban Meyer.
There were flashes of potential for Jacksonville in Week 1 and the receiving corps could actually cause a few upset wins this season. D.J. Chark led all Jaguars receivers with 86 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. Jacksonville’s other two touchdowns came from Marvin Jones (77 yards on five catches) and Chris Manhertz (22 yards on one catch).
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