Ahead of a Week 16 showdown against AFC contenders, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton made headlines when he referred to the Jacksonville Jaguars as a “small market” team.
“As you look at them and you watch the tape, it’s a smaller market, but you see a real good team,” Payton said of the Jags heading into the game. The “small market” Jaguars then went into Mile High and took down No. 1 seed in the AFC by a final score of 34-20 as quarterback Trevor Lawrence accounted for four touchdowns.
“I feel great with our offense right now, what we’re able to do, the passing game, guys are making plays, giving them opportunities down the field, and we’re protecting well,” Lawrence said after the game. “We’re doing a lot of things well. We just got to not take it for granted.”
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The loss wasn’t the only L suffered by Payton on Sunday.
After taking down the favored Broncos at home, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen offered a direct shot at Payton – using his own words against him. Just thankful that a small-market team like us can come into a place like Mile High and get it done,” he said.
Despite sitting at 11-4 on the season, the Jaguars aren’t getting much Super Bowl hype. That’s just fine with Coen.
“We don’t care. We really don’t care about the narrative,” he said. “I’m sorry to say that, but it’s only helping us. So I want the narrative to keep coming.”
Denver retained the No. 1 seed despite the loss and a win from the New England Patriots.
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