For the past three months, the Denver Broncos have focused on moving forward after each game, regardless of the outcome. Following their 34-20 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars—a loss that ended both an 11-game winning streak and a 12-game home win streak—Head Coach Sean Payton urged his team to maintain this approach.
“I said to them, ‘One of the things you managed to do each week is get on to the next challenge,'” Payton stated Sunday. “In other words, digest the win. I think the same thing has to apply, especially on a short week like this. You’ve shown the ability to digest the game before, and then get on to the next challenge — and you have to do the same after a tough loss.”
The Broncos’ previous regular-season loss by more than one score occurred in Week 9 of 2024. Reflecting on Sunday’s performance, tackle Mike McGlinchey commented: “Losing [stinks] no matter what time of the year it is. Certainly, it was a big game. Jacksonville played well. They had a great plan, executed well. They played better than us today in all phases.”
Coach Payton identified several areas where Denver struggled, including third-down efficiency and turnovers. The Broncos converted only five out of fourteen third downs and one out of three fourth downs. In contrast, Jacksonville began with seven conversions in ten attempts on third down and finished eight for fifteen overall. The Jaguars capitalized during a key third quarter by converting all four third-down opportunities and scored touchdowns on their first four red-zone possessions against Denver’s previously top-ranked defense.
Additionally, Denver lost the turnover battle by two—their first such deficit since Week 10.
“Part of this process is not fooling ourselves,” Payton remarked. “They beat us tonight. They beat us good in all three areas, and it starts with me. Even though that hurts going down, you can’t spit it out and you have to swallow it. That’s the truth. They beat us in all three areas. We have to coach better. We have to look at what we’re doing. We have to make sure we’re not doing too much, and we have to do that all on a quick turnaround.”
Despite this setback, Denver remains atop its conference standings as they prepare for a Christmas Day matchup against Kansas City in Week 17. With two wins in their final games, they can secure both an AFC West title and the No. 1 seed for playoffs; certain outcomes elsewhere could also clinch these positions earlier.
Quarterback Bo Nix reflected: “We got hit in the mouth today, and they played a good game and we let it get away,” he said.”But you’d rather have it hit you now than in the first round of playoffs.I wouldn’t call it a wake-up call,because we were playing well.It’s just one of those that will reset you and put you back in,get you back to where you need to be.It’ll put you in a good mindset if you’ll let it.
“You can’t let this one linger.We have to move on and attack this week on just a short couple of days.”
Inside linebacker Alex Singleton emphasized learning from defeat while preparing for Thursday’s upcoming contest: “Feel it,” Singleton said.”Why move on from it? Let’s remember this and go get a win on Thursday.”
