It was bound to happen.
The Denver Broncos’ historic home winning streak of 11 games has ended after the Jaguars came into Mile High and took care of business.
It’s the team’s first loss since Week 3, when the Broncos lost to the Chargers on a game-winning field goal.
Losing Edge
If you told a Broncos fan at the beginning of September that Denver would sit atop the AFC with a 12-3 record, they wouldn’t believe you. If you also told them that it would be because of their elite defense, they’d also not take you seriously.
That’s the reality of Denver’s situation. After they absolutely dominated teams through their first 11 games, the Broncos’ daunting defense has started to show some real regression.
The catalyst? Their bye week.
Been Building For A While
Coming out of the bye on Nov. 30, Denver’s defense fizzled against the Washington Commanders, a team that has struggled offensively all season. Dan Quinn and Co. had them completely figured out — throwing short passes to neutralize pass pressure led to 26 points for Washington.
Their next game in Las Vegas had a similar story, though it wasn’t talked about much. The Raiders’ offense ranks the worst in the NFL, and Denver cruised to a 24-17 win. Allowing 17 points to the Raiders, though, was very uncharacteristic of them. Just three weeks prior, they only allowed one touchdown in Mile High.
The following week against Green Bay, the defense allowed 26 points. The Packers are a great offensive team, but they rank in the middle of the pack in total yards. Jordan Love had his way with Denver and almost pulled off an incredible comeback.
Issues Need Fixing
Fast forward to their loss vs. Jacksonville. Denver surrendered a season-high 34 points to a mid-tier offense. Their biggest issues? Penalties and missed tackles. Too many times has the Broncos defense made a great third-down stand, just for a penalty flag to be tossed and gift the Jaguars offense another life.
Denver was given a whopping six penalties on Sunday, a number that has become shockingly normal due to their constant PI trouble. Two of these flags came on third-down plays, which is typically where the Broncos thrive. One was an unnecessary roughness call on defensive back P.J. Locke. This gave Trevor Lawrence another chance, and the Jaguars ended up scoring that possession.
The defensive penalties have to stop if Denver wants to make a deep run. You cannot give great quarterbacks like Lawrence second chances because, most of the time, they capitalize. Another back breaker in the loss was the plethora of missed tackles.
Untypical Problems
During Jacksonville’s three consecutive scoring drives, there were missed tackles left and right— literally. It seemed every run play from the Jaguars went from a measly few yards to a first down and change. Denver’s communication must improve to prevent another offensive explosion like that.
The final issue that Denver dealt with was their abysmal third-down defense. Coming into the contest, the Broncos had been the NFL’s best unit on both third down and in the red zone. On Sunday, though, Jacksonville went 8-of-15 on third down. This led to multiple red zone opportunities. Denver’s defense then allowed four touchdowns in five tries from the Jaguars in the red zone, an embarrassing showing.
Though their recent showing of vulnerability is concerning, Broncos fans should still feel great about their squad. They now get a bounce-back opportunity vs. an injury-riddled Chiefs squad. Their regular-season finale with the Chargers follows this.
If Denver is to make a big run, though, they need to start patching their wounds.
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