Defense clamps down after Week 1 tackling woes, fueling Broncos' 20-13 comeback win over Jaguars

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Broncos ' defense went back to the basics after a disastrous opener in Kansas City. It focused on the most fundamental part of football there is — tackling.

It was shored up in a hurry.

The defense limited Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville offense to three points in the second half — and none over the final 24 minutes — allowing Bo Nix to stage a comeback as the Broncos rallied for a 20-13 win Sunday.

“Look, our job is to play the game and give the ball to the offense,” linebacker Alex Singleton said after his defense's rebound.

A job made easier by simply wrapping up.

The Broncos re-emphasized fundamentals all week after missing a whopping 28 tackles in a 31-10 loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. They held the Jaguars under 100 yards rushing Sunday and kept Lawrence out of the end zone after he threw for three TDs and ran for another in a 34-20 win in Denver last December.

“It was being better this week and being one step better, having that short-term memory,” Pat Surtain II explained. “Erase that week and just focus on this week ahead."

The Broncos (1-1) were one of the top defenses in the league last season, but it wasn't on display in Week 1. That could possibly be chalked up to not playing all that many snaps in the preseason.

One thing's for sure — the team's confidence never wavered.

“It’s funny how everyone was freaking out after one game,” defensive lineman Zach Allen said. “We got back on track today.”

Trailing 13-3 in the third quarter, the defense dug in as Nix and the offense found their groove in reeling off 17 straight points to snap the Jaguars' nine-game regular-season winning streak.

The Jaguars finished the game by going interception, missed field goal and punt. The Broncos' last four drives looked like this: field goal, TD, TD and victory formation.

“It was a good day for the team to bounce back,” said cornerback Riley Moss, who picked off Lawrence's pass late in the third quarter. “There’s still things that we’ve got to work on. It wasn’t a perfect game, but we got the ‘W.’”

Last December, Lawrence threw for 279 yards and three TDs with no interceptions. This time, it was a different story. Lawrence threw for 138 yards in the first half but only 51 more the rest of the way. What's more, the Broncos held the Jaguars to 2 of 6 on third-down conversions in the second half.

“As as far what they did, it wasn’t anything that surprised us,” Lawrence said. "They played really good up front. They got after us a little bit and I thought we played on our heels a little bit.”

In constant pursuit was pass rusher Nik Bonitto, who had three QB hits. He led a group that kept constant pressure on Lawrence.

“They’re a great offense,” Bonitto said. “But at the same time, we look at last year's game and we see it was really just missed tackles that gave them a lot of points and even this year making sure that we’re playing to our standard.”

One of the biggest sequences of the game was in the third quarter and the Jaguars facing a first-and-goal at the 9. Denver held them to a field goal to make it 13-3 and keep the game in range.

“We made game-changing plays," said Surtain, whose team hosts the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. “That’s what we did — just finding ways to get them off the field, finding ways to win third down. That was huge.”

AP freelancer Ashlyn Stapleton contributed to this report.

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Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (85) runs the ball past Denver Broncos defenders Jonah Elliss (52) and Nik Bonitto (15) in the first half of an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) knocks the ball loose from the grasp of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, right, in the first half of an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Lutzens)

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Quintin Morris (80) is stopped by Denver Broncos defenders Pat Surtain II (2) and Alex Singleton, right, in the first half of an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Two games into the season, the returns aren't promising for the Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

Herbert struggled for the second straight week on his home field — this time in front of a hostile crowd — as Los Angeles fell to 0-2 with its second 26-14 loss this season, this time to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Herbert was 15 of 27 for 192 yards with two interceptions and fumbled three times, although the Chargers recovered all three. Los Angeles fumbled six times on the day, losing one.

In his debut with McDaniel — who spent the previous for seasons as head coach of the Miami Dolphins — calling the plays, Herbert threw for a modest 209 yards with a touchdown and a pick in a loss to Arizona.

Known as a passer who has put up big numbers in the regular season but struggled in the playoffs, Herbert doesn't even have statistics on his side so far in 2026.

“There’s a room full of grown men that can handle their job and they’re going to do everything they can to correct it and fix it,” Herbert said. “We’re going to stick together. It’s tough. No one wants to lose two games but there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

Translating what Herbert considers to be productive practices into game success would be a step in the right direction.

“We just have to be better,” Herbert said. “That’s not good enough and we can’t expect to win games when we’re playing like that.”

Herbert wasn’t completely to blame. Chargers receivers dropped three passes in the first half, including a bobble by David Njoku that ended up as an interception by the Raiders’ Hezekiah Masses.

Herbert’s second interception came with less than three minutes remaining and Los Angeles trailing 24-14. The Raiders tacked on a safety when Chargers right tackle Joe Alt was called for holding in the end zone with 1:46 left.

That sent the pro-Raiders crowd — the franchise called Los Angeles home from 1982-94 and maintains a strong Southern California fan base — into a frenzy.

Alt was supposed to supply stability for the passing game after playing just six games last season because of an ankle injury that required surgery. He was called for four penalties Sunday.

The addition of free-agent center Tyler Biadasz was also expected to help a beleaguered offensive line, but he was lost in training camp with a knee injury.

Coach Jim Harbaugh will look to fix the offensive line and his team's other problems before next weekend game at unbeaten Buffalo.

“The ‘why’ is what we’ll be talking about,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll look at the tape. We’ll go back to work. That’s all I know how to do. That’s all we know how to do. Find the way and we’ll move forward. It’s a one-week league.”

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Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is sacked by Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce (51) during the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Katie Chin)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) throws a pass during the first half during an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Katie Chin)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) recovers a fumble during the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Katie Chin)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) throws under pressure from Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Jonah Laulu (96) during the second half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) fumbles as he is tackled by Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce (51) during the second half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)