DENVER (AP) — Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score, leading the Jacksonville Jaguars to a resounding 34-20 win that snapped the Denver Broncos’ 11-game winning streak Sunday.
The AFC South-leading Jaguars (11-4) won their sixth straight game and handed the Broncos (12-3) their first loss since Week 3. It was also Denver’s first loss at home since Oct. 13, 2024, snapping the Broncos’ 12-game home winning streak.
The Broncos’ lead over the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West was sliced to a single game. The teams play in Week 18.
After Broncos rookie RJ Harvey pinballed his way for a 38-yard touchdown to tie it at 17 on the opening drive of the second half, it was all Jacksonville.
Lawrence scored on a 1-yard keeper, then hit Parker Washington for 63 yards to set up Travis Etienne Jr.’s 10-yard TD catch. After Bo Nix fumbled his exchange with running back Jaleel McLaughlin, Lawrence drove Jacksonville on its fifth consecutive score, a 26-yard field goal by Cam Little that made it 34-17 early in the fourth quarter.
Parker caught six passes for a career-best 145 yards and a TD.
The Broncos were driving after pulling to 34-20. But on fourth down from Jacksonville’s 41, Nix telegraphed a throw to Pat Bryant that was easily intercepted by Jarrian Jones midway through the fourth quarter. Later, Bryant was carted off after a vicious hit in the final minute.
This was a matchup of the NFL’s two most penalized teams and Denver committed two big penalties on that drive that ended with Lawrence taking it in from the 1. Malcolm Roach was flagged for landing with his weight on Lawrence and rookie Jahdae Barron was whistled for a debatable pass interference in the end zone.
Lawrence is playing the best football of his five-year NFL career, figuring out the nuances in coach Liam Coen’s offense and stoking his connection with deadline trade addition Jakobi Meyers. The Jaguars had outscored their previous five opponents by a cumulative 171-72 but this was Lawrence’s signature win.
He was sacked five times by the league’s best pass rush — the Broncos have 63 sacks on the season — but it didn’t matter as Lawrence threw for 279 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. Jacksonville was 4 for 5 in the red zone against the league’s best red zone defense.
Nix threw for a career-best 353 yards, but he wasn’t his usual sharp self, accounting for the two turnovers and a high pass that led to Bryant’s injury with 31 seconds remaining. Bryant was strapped to a body board and carted off.
In the first half, Lawrence threw touchdown passes of 12 yards to Washington and 3 yards to Brenton Strange, who got away with a push-off from safety P.J. Locke, filling in for the injured Brandon Jones.
On their first scoring drive, Lawrence and the Jaguars actually benefitted from the din that rattled Empower Field when Jacksonville was flagged for a false start. Blitzing safety P.J. Locke didn’t hear the whistle and put a vicious blindside hit on Lawrence. Only that 15-yard penalty was enforced, jumpstarting Jacksonville’s TD drive.
The Broncos trailed 17-10 at the half after Nix threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton and Wil Lutz connected from 54 yards after banging a 44-yard try off the right upright.
Injuries:
Jaguars: RG Patrick Mekari (back) got hurt in the second quarter and didn’t return. … In the fourth quarter, CB Greg Newsome II sustained a shoulder injury but returned.
Broncos: TE Nate Adkins left in the second quarter with a knee injury.
Up next
Jaguars: visit the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Broncos: visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas night.
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