LONDON — Cornerback K’Waun Williams came to the sideline early in the game after breaking up an out-breaking route and had a proclamation for his teammates.
“He said, ‘Dawg, if they throw that again, I’m gonna pick it,’” safety Justin Simmons recalled after the game.
Williams delivered, intercepting a pass by Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence on an out route with 1 minute, 43 seconds, left to essentially seal Denver’s 21-17 victory here against the Jaguars.
“‘K’ is a baller, man,” Simmons said of his teammate, who has played most of the season with a cast on his right hand due to a broken thumb. … “That was, obviously, a big-time play.”
Williams, indeed, has been something of an unsung hero on a talented Broncos defense. A nickel back, he’s played nearly 75% of Denver’s defensive snaps on the season and is effective in coverage, against the run and as a blitzer.
“He’s got one arm,” head coach Nathaniel Hackett said after the game. “How you catch that, I still don’t know.”
Cushenberry injured: Denver lost center Lloyd Cushenberry to a hip injury, making him the latest in a growing group of offensive linemen to sustain injuries this year. Graham Glasgow, who played right guard early in the season in place of Quinn Meinerz, stepped in and played center the rest of the way.
Tight end Andrew Beck suffered an injury early in the game but returned to action later.
Denver’s inactives included a group of injured players – outside linebacker Baron Browning (hip), left tackle Cam Fleming (quad), receiver Tyrie Cleveland (groin) and cornerback Essang Bassey (hamstring) – along with a trio of healthy scratches in newly signed running back Marlon Mack, rookie defensive lineman Eyioma Uwauzrike and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam.
Record attendance: Wembley Stadium packed in 86,215 on Sunday, making it the largest crowd to ever see an NFL International Games contest in the United Kingdom. The Broncos were well-represented and so were the Jaguars, but one of the interesting parts of the scene is that it was not difficult to find fans from just about every NFL franchise among the masses.
“Not to be a little big-headish, but I used to get that in college all the time,” defensive lineman and former Ohio State standout Dre’Mont Jones said of the crowd.
“It was like, ‘Oh, cool.’ I haven’t had that in a couple of years where it’s like damn-near 90,000 fans.”
-------
