P.J. Locke could not explain what happened. The Broncos winning streak ended Sunday with a 34-20 home loss to the Jaguars, and with a myriad of Denver mistakes, a personal foul penalty against Locke in the first quarter epitomized their struggles. The Broncos safety, starting in place of injur ed Brandon Jones, blitzed Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on a third-and-10 play from midfield as the crowd roared at Empower Field. Officials blew the play dead with a false start penalty called on Jacksonville tight end Quintin Morris. It appeared Locke did not hear the whistle — because he leveled Lawrence from behind with a monster hit. Officials handed Locke a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. Jacksonville capitalized five plays later with a Lawrence touchdown pass. Locke later stood in the postgame locker room in disbelief. “I still don’t know what they called. I don’t know about that one. I don’t know. I can’t tell you what happened on the play,” Locke said in the postgame locker room, still in disbelief. “All I know is, I was in full pursuit, and he was still dropping back. I thought I had a sack-fumble, honestly.” Did Locke hear a whistle? “Nope,” he said. Locke’s error set the tone for their worst defensive performance of the season. The Broncos gave up a season-high 34 points. Jacksonville scored touchdowns on four-of-five trips to the red zone. The Jaguars converted eight third downs and burned the Broncos with big plays. Lawrence completed six passes for at least 20 yards. His favorite target, wide receiver Parker Washington, exploded with six catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. Jaguars running back Travis Etienne also logged a 24-yard carry in the second quarter. A common denominator on many of those big gains? Missed tackles by the Broncos. “I’m sure we’re going to look at the tape,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “We missed a lot of tackles in space. There were a lot of yards after the catch that showed up, which was evident.” Defensive players took ownership for a loss that snapped an 11-game winning streak this season. “We’ve just got to get out of our own way,” inside linebacker Alex Singleton said. “Guys know what we need to do, and we’ve just got to do it. We’ve just got to play clean football. … We missed a lot of tackles today.” Cornerback Jahdae Barron added: “We’re a close team. We’re very family oriented. Just coming together and cleaning up the mistakes. Also, depending on the things you do well, too.” Locke was not the only player with a costly (and questionable) penalty, either. Defensive lineman Malcolm Roach was called for roughing the passer in the third quarter due to “body weight” laying on Lawrence after the play. “What they call, we’ve got to live with it,” defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers said. “Whether we agree or not.” The Broncos (12-3) did not exhibit panic after a tough defeat. They still control their own destiny to clinch the AFC West, and the No. 1 seed, with victories over the Chiefs and Chargers to close the year. It’s better to learn from a regular-season loss instead of a quick playoff exit. Denver is hopeful that falling in Week 16 will strengthen its readiness for a deep postseason run. “It’s better to have a wake-up call now than in the playoffs when you don’t get a second chance,” defensive lineman Zach Allen said. “So, let’s move on and move forward.” ...read more read less