The Denver Broncos hosted the roaring Jacksonville Jaguars in their Week 16 matchup. A gridiron battle of two division leaders, this one was expected to be a close and hard-fought matchup. It turned out
to be the opposite, with the Jaguars throttling the Broncos 34-20 and ending their 11-game winning streak. Here are some instant reactions and key takeaways from today’s game.
Penalties, drops, and miscues plague Broncos’ offensive effort
Last week against the Green Bay Packers, Bo Nix and the offense had one of their most complete games of the season. In order to defeat the Jaguars, they needed to replicate some of that success. Sadly, that was far from the case with only several good drives through sixty minutes of play.
After struggling in the first quarter, they were able muster a quality scoring drive early on in the second quarter. A 15-yard fade to Courtland Sutton tied the game up. A few drives later, Wil Lutz was able to connect on a 54-yard field goal to give the Broncos a 10-7 lead—but that was short-lived with Denver being down 17-10 at halftime.
Denver’s first drive of the second half couldn’t have gone any better. Rookie running back RJ Harvey broke a few tackles and dove for the pylon to cap off a 38-yard touchdown scamper that tied the game up at 17. It was an absolutely marvelous play by the second-round pick. After that? There wasn’t much to write home about.
Three-and-outs and stalled drives were a theme for the Broncos thereafter. A failed handoff exchange between Nix and Jaleel McLaughlin late in the third quarter was the straw that broke the camel’s back with Denver already down 31-17. In the fourth quarter down 34-20, Nix threw an interception on fourth down that officially ended any hopes of a miracle comeback.
Penalties, drops, turnovers, and miscues all played a culprit in the Broncos’ regression on offense against the Jaguars. Ther only bright spot on offense was Harvey’s performance. It was in a losing effort, but over 120 all-purpose yards and a touchdown is praiseworthy. The team will continue to need him to play at a high level in the final weeks of the season to help secure the division title and top seed in the AFC.
Defense fails to show up in worst performance of the season
The Jaguars entered today’s contest averaging well over 30 points a game since their bye week. Both Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne were on hot streaks. It was a big task for the Broncos to slow them down. Unfortunately, they struggled all game long and had their worst performance of the year. It was ugly throughout four quarters.
One area of concern I had was how safety P.J. Locke would hold up in coverage. He surrendered a touchdown reception to tight end Brenton Strange in the second quarter—aided by a clear push off by Strange. However, he was also targeted often on the Jaguars’ scoring drive right before halftime and also in the second half. It’s clear that Brandon Jones’ presence in the backend of Denver’s secondary was sorely missed.
On top of that, Lawrence was able to light up the Broncos’ red zone defense. Entering today’s game, Denver’s red zone defense was best in the NFL in ‘25 and a huge strength. Today? They gave up four touchdowns in Jacksonville’s first four trips inside the 20. That’s certainly not a recipe for success. It was Murphy’s Law for the Broncos on defense this afternoon.
Missed tackles, missed coverage assignments, and penalties hampered Denver’s ability to thwart Jacksonville’s offensive endeavors. The Jaguars were routinely able to create yards after the catch and blow past Broncos defenders. It’s been a long time since we have seen them play this poorly. But perhaps a wakeup call was eventually in order. It’s really not worth mentioning ‘elite’ and this defense in the same sentence any longer.
After multiple weeks of showing concerning weaknesses, all of the Broncos’ biggest flaws were exposed today. With only two games remaining before the playoffs, the team doesn’t have long to correct them. If they can’t, their hopes of a strong postseason push may be in jeopardy. Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph and his players have their work cut out for them.
Denver can’t let this loss linger. Recalibrate and beat the Chiefs on Christmas.
All good things come to an end. It’s been an awesome season for the Broncos, but their eleven-game winning streak is now over. Getting pummeled at home by the Jaguars wasn’t on the radar for me. I thought the Broncos would win in a close game.
A huge credit to Jacksonville for being the better team today. They executed a great gameplan on both sides of the ball. They also delivered Denver their first loss at home since October of last season. That’s pretty wild when you think about it.
That being said, the Broncos can’t afford to dwell on this loss and let it linger. They need to shift gears quickly and be prepared to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas. There usually isn’t a good way to spin a loss, but this sort of adversity might be important for the Broncos to experience before the postseason hits.
It can serve as a bit of a reality check for them. Moreover, it’s certainly a woeful performance where there will be ample tape to show what they need to correct and improve upon. The next two games are against division rivals. They are must-win games for Denver to win the AFC West and find a way to edge out the competition for that coveted first-round bye and homefield advantage that comes with the #1 seed.
Will the Broncos be able to show some tenacity and resiliency over the next two weeks? I sure hope so. So much is at stake. Let’s hope they can finish off the season strong with back-to-back wins. Although it isn’t going to be easy, especially with Pat Bryant and Dre Greenlaw being injured late in today’s game.
