• SportsGrid

The Jacksonville Jaguars' victory on Sunday over the Denver Broncos positions them as AFC favorites, with a solid lineup showcasing their strong potential.

DENVER — One man's flowers are apparently another man's sours.

"Great team effort. Just thankful that a small market team like us can come into a place like Mile High and get it done," Jaguars coach Liam Coen cracked after Jacksonville's statement 34-20 win in Denver on Sunday that snapped the Broncos' 11-game winning streak and tightened the AFC playoff race before the holidays.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, left, and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, right, shake hands after an NFL football game in Denver, Dec. 21.

Coen used an innocuous comment — or attempted compliment — from Broncos coach Sean Payton earlier in the week as a rallying cry for his upstart team, which has won six straight games, vaulting into the mix for the AFC's top playoff seed at 11-4, a game behind both the Broncos and Patriots.

Several of his players repeated some form of what they considered Denver's diss in the aftermath of Jacksonville's signature win. But Payton insisted he meant no disrespect last Wednesday when he mentioned the Jaguars hailing from a "smaller market."

Asked last Wednesday about the challenge of facing Jacksonville, Payton praised Coen and his staff as well as the Jaguars' offense, defense and special teams in trying to make the point that they had closed in on the playoff field and seemingly weren't getting their proper respect nationally.

He ended his windy list of obstacles the Broncos were facing in the Jaguars with this summation: "As you look at them and you watch the tape, it's a smaller market but you see a real good team."

Which, in fact, are the facts.

The Jaguars are third in the AFC playoff positioning heading into Week 17, and like the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans, they operate in one of the league's smaller metro areas and television markets.

Payton didn't seem bothered by the way the Jaguars had taken his words out of context to use as a motivational tool. He actually admired Coen for doing so.

"My press conference, it was very complimentary and those guys are playing outstanding football," Payton said Monday. "That topic came up strictly because, 'Hey, not enough of the country has seen how good these guys are playing.'

"The point is though, listen, that was a good job by Liam," Payton added. "He was looking for a rallying cry. Obviously, if you were listening to the press conference, the intention was strictly, 'Hey, quietly, these guys are sitting here right near the top of the AFC, they're ready to win their division.'

"I spent 16 years at a small market. It was just a way for a coach to take it and use it to his advantage."

After Sunday's performance in Denver, nobody should be dismissing or dissing Jacksonville now.

Yet, Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones would just as soon have everybody keep overlooking them and keep their compliments to themselves.

"I don't even want it. Keep doubting us," Jones said. "We want to show up every Sunday and you have to play us no matter where we're at. We play in the snow, we play in the rain, whatever you want to do. I think the Jags are going to be ready to play."

Which was sort of Payton's point all along.

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