Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY)

Broncos beat Jaguars 21-17 in London to snap losing streak

- By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer

LONDON (AP) >> The Broncos offense has stalled all season so expectatio­ns were low when a punt left them on their 2-yard line, trailing the Jacksonvil­le Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.

Embattled quarterbac­k Russell Wilson delivered a message in the huddle.

“I told the guys ‘hey listen we’re going to go 98 yards right here. Believe in it,” Wilson said. “Every season I’ve ever played, you’ve got to catch momentum. There’s a moment in time where it clicks.”

Melvin Gordon scored on that drive early in the second half, and Latavius Murray took it in from 2 yards late in the fourth quarter to help the Broncos snap a four-game losing streak by beating the Jaguars 21-17 on Sunday.

Wilson led two go-ahead scoring drives in the second half on his return from a hamstring injury. He finished 18 for 30 for 252 yards with a touchdown and intercepti­on.

Wilson looked rusty early, but connected on a 47-yard completion to KJ Hamler after the Broncos fell behind 17-14 on Travis Etienne’s 1-yard touchdown run with 3:54 to play. Wilson then scrambled for 10 yards on a third-and-5 to get to the Jacksonvil­le 28.

The late score gave Murray a touchdown for two different teams this month in London. He ran for a score for New Orleans earlier in October at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Broncos (3-5) erased a 10-point deficit on Jerry Jeudy’s 6-yard touchdown reception in the first half and Gordon’s 1-yard run to complete the 98-yard scoring drive. On the long drive, Wilson connected three times with rookie tight end Greg Dulcich, including a 38-yard completion to the 1. Gordon then ran it in to give the Broncos a 14-10 lead.

Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett, who has come under criticism in his first year on the job, credited Wilson for shaking off the slow start.

“You learn a lot about a quarterbac­k when they throw a pick,” Hackett said. “He got it out of the way early. He was able to rebound and come back.”

The announced attendance of 86,215 is the largest crowd in the history of NFL internatio­nal games.

The Jaguars (2-6) lost their fifth consecutiv­e game despite a career day from Etienne, who carried 24 times for 156 yards and a touchdown.

Etienne scored on a 1-yard plunge to give Jacksonvil­le a 17-14 lead with 3:54 to play.

After Murray’s touchdown with 1:43 remaining, Jaguars quarterbac­k Trevor Lawrence threw an intercepti­on to K’Waun Williams at the Jacksonvil­le 35.

Lawrence had a costly red zone intercepti­on on a first-and-goal from the 1 in the first half. Lawrence was 18 for 31 for 133 yards with a touchdown and two intercepti­ons.

“I’ve got to look in the mirror. I’ve got to play better,” Lawrence said.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States