The Broncos started 1-5. They willed their way back into the playoff chase. On Christmas Eve, at 7-7 and with 10 other AFC teams at 8-7 or better, the Broncos had a chance to keep pace.
They didn’t, losing 26-23 to the playing-for-nothing Patriots.
“We are not going to insert the ‘Jim Mora playoffs’ press conference,” Broncos coach Sean Payton told reporters after the game. “I told these guys I am disappointed. I am disappointed for them. I am sure they are too. Tomorrow, you have to spend time and enjoy Christmas with your families. Then we have to come back to work Wednesday, and we have to focus on winning a game. We had a home game today and an opportunity to keep going. We did not take advantage of it, but we have our next opportunity next week and we kind of go from there.”
The Broncos finish with a home game against the Chargers and a trip to Las Vegas to face the Raiders. The Broncos aren’t eliminated, but they need to win — and they need help.
“I haven’t done the math,” quarterback Russell Wilson told reporters. “I’m feeling this loss right now. We thought we should have won this game. I think the best thing we can do is get up tomorrow and be with our families, and this and that, and then get back to work. We have two games to go, and those games mean a lot just for who we are and our fight, and our testament of who we are and how we’re going to battle back.”
After winning six of seven, the Broncos have now lost two straight. They can finish 9-8. They can still get in.
But, frankly, the playoffs should be a place for the better teams playing their best. The Broncos failing to get it done at home against a team going nowhere doesn’t suggest that they’re truly ready to go to a place like Miami or Baltimore or Kansas City in the wild-card round and give the home team a run for its money.
Frankly, beyond the 10-5 Browns and 9-6 Bills, there’s no team in the AFC that seems like it’s ready to compete with the No. 2 seed. The Jaguars, Colts, and Texans all looked not too good on Sunday. The Bengals have seen the Jake Browning bubble burst. The Steelers’ Renegade formula likely won’t work on the road in the playoffs against a great team.
The various seven-loss or seven-win teams chasing the seventh seed will have a steep hill to climb to be anything more than sacrificial lambs. Still, getting to the playoffs is better than not getting to the playoffs. Even if the team that punches the last ticket to the AFC party is destined to have a very short stay.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence entered Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers with an ankle injury, and a concussion from which he had recovered. He exited the game with a shoulder injury.
He’ll have more tests on Monday to determine whether he’ll be available for next Sunday’s game against the Panthers.
“It’s bothering me,” Lawrence said after the 30-12 road loss to the Buccaneers, via ESPN.com. “Hopefully nothing major but, yeah, it’s bugging me right now.”
Lawrence injured the shoulder while diving for a first down on fourth and one, late in the third quarter. He remained in the game for the rest of the drive, before yielding to quarterback C.J. Beathard.
“When I landed I knew something was off,” Lawrence said. “And the next play it kind of hurts to throw. I wanted to finish the drive out and we were able to get some points, and then on the two-point [conversion attempt I] could tell by the way I threw it I couldn’t really get my shoulder up good enough to really keep playing.
“I would’ve loved to have stayed in but just kind of hurting everybody at that point if I do, so they made the call to just take a seat the rest of the night.”
Lawrence has never missed a start during his three-year NFL careers. In 2023, he returned the next week after a knee injury, an ankle inury, and most recently a concussion. With the Jaguars now losing four in a row, they need Lawrence if they hope to win the AFC South.
The only good news for Jacksonville is that both the Colts and the Texans lost on Sunday, preserving the three-way tie for the division lead at 8-7.
The Jaguars conclude their season with games at home against the Panthers and at Tennessee.
When the Buccaneers were 4-7, a division title didn’t appear to be a likely destination but the last four weeks have changed everything in Tampa.
Mike Evans caught two touchdowns and the Bucs defense forced four turnovers as they rolled over the Jaguars for a 30-12 home win. The victory, which was their fourth in a row, moves them to 8-7 and they will win the division for the third straight year as long as they win one of their next two games. They host the Saints in Week 17 and visit the Panthers in Week 18.
Evans scored both of his touchdowns in the first half as the Bucs used their veteran receiver and three takeaways on defense to take a 20-0 lead after 30 minutes of play. Evans finished the day with seven catches for 86 yards and quarterback Baker Mayfield continued his own hot streak by going 26-of-35 for 283 yards.
Linebacker Devin White put a tumultuous week behind him with an interception that set up White’s first score and a half-sack. Safety Antoine Winfield had an interception and a sack, but his condition will be something to monitor after he left for a concussion evaluation in the second half.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence returned from a concussion of his own to start on Sunday, but he didn’t look like he was quite 100 percent. He threw both interceptions and lost a fumble before leaving the game with a shoulder injury with the Jags down 30-6 in the second half. It’s the third straight week with an injury for Lawrence — he had a high-ankle sprain in Week 14 — and the fourth straight loss for the reeling Jaguars.
They are now 8-6, which leaves them with the same record as the Colts and Texans. They have a home date against the 2-13 Panthers next week and that would usually elicit a sigh of relief, but there’s little about the Jaguars right now to suggest that they can be considered a safe bet to win any game.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was taken out in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers with a shoulder injury.
Lawrence is called questionable to return. The Jags are down 30-6, however, and it seems likely that C.J. Beathard will be handling the quarterbacking duties for the rest of the game.
Beathard completed two straight passes to tight end Evan Engram after entering the game, but Engram lost a fumble on the second one to continue a miserable day in Tampa for the Jaguars. The turnover was the fourth of the day by the Jaguars and Lawrence was responsible for three of them.
He threw two interceptions in the first half and then lost a fumble on a sack by linebacker Yaya Diaby in the third quarter. He threw a touchdown to Calvin Ridley to get the Jaguars on the board, but that’s small consolation as the Jags head for their fourth straight loss.
UPDATE 6:36 p.m. ET: Lawrence has now been ruled out for the rest of the game.
It’s been all Buccaneers through 30 minutes of play in Tampa on Sunday.
Baker Mayfield has thrown two touchdowns to wide receiver Mike Evans, Trevor Lawrence has thrown a pair of interceptions and the Bucs are up 20-0 on the Jags at halftime.
Evans made a spectacular catch of a 22-yard bullet from Mayfield with 45 seconds left to play in the half to stretch Tampa’s lead to 20 points and the veteran wideout has six catches for 76 yards already. He is also up to 13 touchdown catches on the season, which leaves him one away from tying his career high and he might get there before the day is out if the Jags don’t get their act together.
Lawrence cleared the concussion protocol on Saturday, but his first half work may have some wondering if he’s 100 percent. He is 10-of-13 for 103 yards outside the interceptions, but those interceptions and the two sacks he’s taken have done a lot to get the Bucs to halftime with such a big lead. Bucs safety Antoine Winfield has continued his excellent season with one interception and one sack, and the Bucs defense will be able to tee off on Lawrence now that the Jaguars have to try to mount such a big comeback.
