The Denver Broncos did not mince words, admitting they were soundly beaten by the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16, and outside linebacker Nik Bonitto knows why.
Jacksonville racked up nearly 350 total yards of offense to go with 34 points. That is the most the Broncos have allowed all season. Lawrence and the Jaguars also avoided turning the ball over, and possessing it for roughly six and a half more minutes than the Broncos did.
Bonitto, a Pro Bowler in 2024, pointed the finger after the loss.
Nik Bonitto Points Finger After Broncos Loss to Jaguars
GettyNik Bonitto #15 of the Denver Broncos celebrates a sack against the Tennessee Titans.
Bonitto, with his face covered by the collar/hood of his coat, spoke candidly in the Broncos’ locker room after the loss when asked if Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had “too much time,” despite Denver notching 5 sacks in the contest.
Bonitto said “he did,” adding that it was “really on me. Nobody else but me.”
“Respectfully, I know I’m a good player, and I gotta find ways to be more effective even when they do stuff like that,” Bonitto said when asked if he saw additional attention off the edge.
Bonitto, who finished with 2 total tackles and 1 QB hit, said he “played ass today. I don’t think I played to my standard; I feel like I could have been a lot better. I didn’t come ready to play today, and that kind of reflected on the rest of the defense.”
Bonitto did not stop with himself, though.
He also called out the rest of the Broncos’ defense for what he considered to be a recent dropoff in production.
“These last couple weeks, we haven’t been playing to our standard. So, I can only speak on us,” Bonitto told media members during his postgame availability. “Just feel like we’re not playing our type of ball.
“We haven’t been playing our type of ball since the bye week, and we just gotta be better.”
Before the bye, which is an 11-game sample size, the Broncos allowed 335.3 total yards of offense and 23.4 points per game. They have given up 398.5 YPG and 26.3 PPG since then.
Bonitto was not down on his team, though, saying, “I feel like we could have won all our games the rest of the way out,” and making clear that they “just gotta be better” after their upset loss to the Jaguars.
Broncos HC Sean Payton Not Concerned About Defense
GettyDenver Broncos head coach Sean Payton leaves the field after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
While Bonitto sounded the call to action and internalized blame, Broncos head coach Sean Payton was unconcerned about any lingering effects from the letdown. The Broncos still sit atop the AFC standings.
“Our defense played pretty well last week. So, you look for those trends, and I think our defense has been outstanding this year. They played a good offense yesterday. And look, they struggled. We didn’t play well yesterday, defensively,” Payton told reporters on December 22.
“Certainly, the week before, against a good offense, we played well, had a big win. So, I don’t see it.”
Up next, Bonitto and the Broncos will look to take down the Kansas City Chiefs. KC will not have Patrick Mahomes or Gardner Minshew after they suffered season-ending injuries. That should provide Bonitto and the Broncos defense an opportunity to work out any issues.
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