Broncos vs Jaguars Week 8 Picks and Predictions: Etienne Steals the Show in London

Sunday sees an early start as we’re back with the third and final NFL game to be played in London this season. The Jacksonville Jaguars host Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos at Wembley, their spiritual home on the other side of the pond. 

Can Russell Wilson bounce back after a slow start to his Broncos career or will Trevor Lawrence inflict more misery on the Broncos’ QB? 

Don’t miss our NFL picks and predictions for the Broncos vs. Jaguars.

Broncos vs Jaguars best odds

Broncos vs Jaguars picks and predictions

Aside from Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars' hopes rest on his former Clemson teammate, Travis Etienne. The second-year running back finally has the keys to the backfield, with the Jaguars trading James Robinson to the Jets this past week. In truth, we’d already been seeing the team move to Etienne, who had begun to take a bigger and bigger share of the touches each week.

Robinson was a brilliant UDFA acquisition but Etienne offers a quicker, more explosive style, and he’s far more capable of splash plays, whereas Robinson was probably slightly better at grinding out those hard yards. 

Last week, Etienne had 114 rushing yards and a touchdown from 14 carries and added a single reception to that too. Now that the team has cleared a path to get him touches, we can expect this to continue, with him getting all but one carry last week. 

He’s had his first 100-yard game and displayed the breakneck speed and lateral cutting ability that made him so electric in college

The Broncos’ defense has allowed an average of 112.9 rushing yards per game and with Etienne getting the bulk of the carries, we can expect a big day for him. Last week, the Broncos gave up 72 yards on the ground to the Jets’ Breece Hall, who left the game after just four carries with an ACL injury. 

With the threat of Lawrence through the air, it should open opportunity to Etienne and he should smash his rushing line of 69.5 yards — and could perhaps get his second 100-yard game in a row.

My best bet: Travis Etienne Over 69.5 rushing yards (-110)

Broncos vs Jaguars spread analysis

When initially thinking about a winner for this game, the mind instinctively leans to the Jaguars, with Russell Wilson’s apparent downfall fresh in your mind. When you actually take a look at the numbers and recent results, it’s a lot closer. The line opened with the Jags as 4.5-point favorites but that’s dropped to just -2.5.

As bad as Wilson and the Broncos have been, they have generally been close in most matches and while the offense is struggling to get going, they have a defense keeping them in games. Only one team through seven games has managed to put 20+ points on them, which was the Raiders in Week 4. This is a very strong defense and they can keep things tight enough to give Wilson the platform to prove his detractors wrong.

Both teams are 2-5 ATS this year but I’d lean toward backing the Broncos to cover. The Jaguars are 1-7 ATS in their past seven against teams with a losing record. It’s worth noting that the Broncos have been in London for a long period, which has probably given them more time to acclimatize to the climate and the location, a small point but it’s one that could have an impact. 

Broncos vs Jaguars Over/Under analysis

We’ve spoken about the Broncos’ struggles on offense but they’re the lowest-scoring team in the league with just 100 points after seven games, with the Jaguars on 155 in the same amount of games. 

With the ability of the Broncos’ defense and the struggles of Russell Wilson, I’d lean toward backing the Under here. The trends back it up too, with the Under 4-0 in the Broncos’ past four games after a loss and 7-1 in their past seven after allowing 150 yards rushing. 

Don’t overthink this and just play the Under.

Broncos vs Jaguars betting trend to know

The Jaguars are 6-15 ATS in their last 21 games. Find more NFL betting trends for Broncos vs. Jaguars.

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