Gardner Minshew is taking the NFL storm. The rookie signal-caller led the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 26-24 win over the Denver Broncos on the road to improve to 2-2 on the season.
PFF's ReFocused series features immediate takeaways from the two analysts who graded the game live. The two offer a detailed breakdown of the game's most notable performances before the grades and advanced stats are reviewed and finalized by Senior Analysts.
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Final Score
Jacksonville Jaguars 26, Denver Broncos 24
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tre Herndon had a beautiful pass breakup of a go route intended for Emmanuel Sanders to end a Broncos’ first-quarter drive. Unfortunately, the rest of the game didn’t go as well for Herndon, as he was beat for two touchdowns by Sanders later in the game.
The only big play for the Jaguars’ defense came by way of Ronnie Harrison’s interception. The Jaguars’ defense couldn't generate a consistent pass-rush to disrupt Joe Flacco.
Leonard Fournette will finish reviews as one of the Jags' highest-graded offensive players, but Gardner Minshew was truly the man of the hour. The rookie sensation had multiple big-time throws and limited his mistakes to help his Jaguars to a win on the road.
Rookie Takeaways
Minshew continues to impress, but fellow rookie Jawaan Taylor turned in another underwhelming performance. His pass protection and run-blocking have been nothing to write home about to start the year.
Denver Broncos
Joe Flacco threw for three touchdowns but also had some accuracy issues at times. In the second quarter, Flacco badly overthrew Sanders on a crossing route and was intercepted by Harrison. Flacco did lead a late fourth-quarter go-ahead scoring drive, but it wasn't enough to down Minshew and the Jags.
Rookie tight end Noah Fant showed his athletic ability by taking a tight end screen for a touchdown in the first quarter. Fant was flagged for a holding penalty against Myles Jack in the fourth quarter. Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay continue to share time. Lindsay was more productive on the ground than Freeman, but Freeman made more plays in the passing game.
Denver didn't have a ton of standout defenders on the defensive side of the ball, but linebacker Todd Davis did put together a strong performance. He earned positive marks in run defense and in coverage across a healthy sample size.
Rookie Takeaways
Dre'Mont Jones, Justin Hollins and Malik Reed all played significant snaps in this one, but none of them will finish reviews with strong grades. None of the three rookies had an extremely positive impact in the game.
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