5 Winners, 6 Losers From Jaguars' Disappointing Loss to Broncos: Parker Washington's Status

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are licking their wounds.

The Jaguars suffered one of the most disappointing losses of the Liam Coen era in Week 2, losing a first-half lead over the Denver Broncos before falling 20-13 in what felt like a very winnable game. So, which Jaguars managed to step up, and who needed to give the Jagurs a little more? We break it down below with the winners and losers of Sunday's defeat.

Winners

WR Parker Washington

It felt pretty clear from watching Sunday's game that the passing attack is set to flow through Parker Washington. He got 12 targets while the rest of the Jaguars' wide receiver room only got nine, and he picked up a solid chunk of the Jaguars' passing game production as a whole. There are likely a few plays Washington would want back, but as a whole he looked like the Jaguars' best wide receiver and pass-catcher by quite a decent margin. That has to mean something after what we saw from him last week to start the season.

RB Bhayshul Tuten

Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten needs to be a bigger part of the offense moving forward: that much is clear. Tuten was the Jaguars' most effective and efficient player on offense on Sunday who was not named Parker Washington, and it was the second week in a row where it was clear all game that he was the Jaguars' most talented and effective running back. It looked like the Jaguars were headed for a timeshare backfield this season, but Tuten has put a gap between himself and Chris Rodriguez Jr. over the course of the last few weeks.

LB Ventrell Miller

On a day where the Jaguars gave up far too many explosives in the passing game, the Jaguars could at least rely on their running game. Ventrell Miller was a big part of that for a second week in a row, tying for the team lead in tackles with seven. Miller was explosive and violent and was someone who consistently stood out against the run. The Jaguars need more consistency in the middle of their defense, and Miller has been the kind of player who has been able to provide that to them through the first two weeks of the season.

DL DaVon Hamilton

The biggest reason the Jaguars were able to effectively slow down the Broncos' running game was nose tackle DaVon Hamilton. The Jaguars' veteran nose tackle looked as dominant as ever during the early phases of the game as the Jaguars swarmed the Broncos' rushing attack, and the Jaguars started to get gashed a bit when he had to miss a few plays on the final drive of the game. There is no questioning just how important he is after a game like the one we saw play out on Sunday in Denver.

LB Dennis Gardeck

It was a bit of a letdown of a day from the Jaguars' defensive front. The Jaguars really got after Deshaun Watson a week ago, but the Jaguars did not record a single sack of Bo Nix and ended up only recording three quarterback hits on him. Two of those quarterback hits came from linebacker Dennis Gardeck, who was consistently disruptive against both the run and the pass. In a game where the Jaguars' front struggled to make the impact plays, Gardeck showed up.

Losers

WR Brian Thomas Jr.

This was a tough game for Brian Thomas Jr. The Jaguars' third-year wide receiver had his moments, but he also had two clear drops that simply can not happen. Thomas offers the Jaguars some serious big-play ability, but to reach his potential he needs to be better for the Jaguars when they are trying to hit singles and doubles in the passing game. Thomas got plenty of targets on Sunday, but he did not nearly enough with them.

RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Sep 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. (24) carries the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sunday was not a very productive day for Chris Rodriguez Jr. He got less run than Bhayshul Tuten for the second week in a row and once again looked like he was being relegated to a short-yardage role more tha anything else. He had just 13 yards on six carries, and seven of those yards came on one carry. He has yet to really move the needle for the running game through two weeks, and Tuten has stood out a decent bit more.

TE Brenton Strange

It felt like this should have been a game where Brenton Strange was a key part of the plan; the Broncos' linebackers struggle in coverage and Strange has been a safety blanket for the Jaguars in the past when they have faced top fronts. But Strange was only targeted twice all game, catching both passes for 17 yards and a very minima impact on a passing game that struggled to get things going in the second half. we are still waiting to see him become a bigger piece of the passing game.

CB Travis Hunter

I find it hard to believe the Jaguars traded up for Travis Hunter with the idea of him not being a full-time player on either side of the ball. He has barely been used on offense, a trend that continued on Sunday, but he was also off the field quite a bit on defense due to the Jaguars' cornerback rotation. He needs to simply not leave the field when the Jaguars are on defense, because there were too many key drives on Sunday without him lining up in the secondary.

LB Branson Combs

It did not feel like backup linebacker Branson Combs had a great outing in coverage. The Broncos were able to complete several passes to the middle of the field, including a critical third-down in the second-half that saw Combs simply react a tick too slow to make a play on the ball. There will be growing pains with such a young player, and Sunday was one of them.

K Cam Little

For all of the pre-game talk of Cam Little potentially getting a chance to make a record-breaking kick attempt in the Denver elevation, it was jarring to see Little miss his 54-yard field goal with 9:45 left in the game. The Jaguars take a 16-13 lead and do not give the Broncos the ball at their own 44 if Little makes that kick.

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