Broncos Player Grades From Brutal Loss to Jaguars

The Denver Broncos were punched in the mouth by the Jacksonville Jaguars. But how did the individual players grade out?

DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 21: Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) reacts after a pressured pass resulted in an injured receiver in the fourth quarter during a game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on December 21, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. | Dustin Bradford Icon Sportswire / IMAGO

The Denver Broncos' winning streak is over after the Jacksonville Jaguars came into Empower Field at Mile High and punched them in the mouth. Even though the Broncos have clinched a playoff spot, this loss makes the AFC West and top seed in the Conference murkier.

However, all Denver has to do is win its final two games to secure both achievements.

After some great performances and grades in recent weeks, this wasn’t a good one for most players. With that said, let’s get into the grades to highlight how the Broncos did against the Jaguars at the individual level. 

MVPs

Defensive MVP: Jonah Elliss | OLB | Grade: 81.7

When Elliss has been on the field, his play has been at the level of a starter. He has missed some time over the past few weeks and had a scare with his knee on a special teams tackle, but he was the Broncos' best performing defender in what was a terrible day for the defense. 

Offensive MVP | Garett Bolles | LT | Grade: 70.8

While Bolles was credited with allowing two pressures, he had more struggles than his grade suggests. This was his best game as a run blocker this season.

With only two pressures allowed, Bolles had more issues in pass protection than in run blocking, which lowered his grade.

Quarterback

Bo Nix | Grade: 47.8

Nix's first half was about as good as Denver has gotten over the past few weeks, but whether it was defensive adjustments from the Jaguars or something else, his play plummeted in the second half. His interception resulted from a trend he has in short-yardage situations, and the Jaguars baited the throw, but his technique and pocket presence were consistently bad in the second half. 

The Positive

Dec 14, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton (49) celebrates defeating the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Alex Singleton | LB | Grade: 79.2

There were a lot of defensive issues, but Singleton wasn’t one of them. He had some close calls in coverage, but he was phenomenal against the run as the Broncos' defensive front was stout. 

D.J. Jones | DL | Grade: 78.9

Speaking of being upfront and stout, a lot of that came from Jones doing the dirty work. He created a lot of issues for the Jaguars' interior offensive line in the run game, which led to defensive success. 

John Franklin-Myers | DL | Grade: 77.6

Franklin-Myers has had plenty of issues as a run defender this season, but this was a good game for him in that department. He also came up big multiple times as a pass rusher and is doing his part to help Denver break the sack record.

RJ Harvey | RB | Grade: 68.7

There were some issues in pass protection, and he had a bad drop, but Harvey more than made up for those with some explosive plays for the offense. Since the bye week, he has looked much more physical with the ball in his hands, and it has led to more success. 

Mike McGlinchey | RT | Grade: 65.4

It was a good game for McGlinchey in pass protection, but he struggled as a run blocker. Multiple run plays were blown up because of his play, which is a lot when you factor in that Denver only had 17 runs. 

Courtland Sutton | WR | Grade: 64.3

The Broncos need to find someone who can consistently help Sutton by taking pressure off him in the passing game. Throughout the game, the Jaguars made it clear how they felt about the other Broncos receivers with the attention they gave Sutton. 

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The Negative

November 17, 2024: Denver Broncos guard Ben Powers (74) blocks Atlanta Falcons defensive end Zach Harrison (96) in the second half of the football game between the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons. | Derek Regensburger/IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Eyioma Uwazurike | DL | Grade: 37.5

It was a rough game for Uwazurike, who did manage to get into the backfield and disrupt the run a couple of times, but he was mostly shut out in his limited playing time. There were also a few runs where the other Broncos were able to make up for a mistake from Uwazurike. 

Alex Palczewski | LG | Grade: 37.6

Palczewski has been rough for the Broncos, and Ben Powers needs to get back out there in a full-time role as soon as possible. Even though Powers wasn’t great, more on that later, he was better than Palczewski and provided more stability to the line. 

Jonathon Cooper | OLB | Grade: 39.8

Cooper has been a liability for this defense since the bye week, with how undisciplined he has been as a pass rusher. Typically, he makes up for it as a run defender, but he wasn’t able to against the Jaguars, despite the defensive success against the run. 

Adam Trautman | TE | Grade: 43.7

After multiple games of playing well, Trautman was a liability as a blocker against the Jaguars. He wasn’t able to get it done, and the lack of consistency is why Denver should be aggressive in adding an upgrade in the offseason. 

Riley Moss | CB | Grade: 44.3

Moss's technique is a mess, and he has struggled to stick with his coverage assignment since he has put in the work to cut down on penalties. It's like he was grabbing on to help stick with his assignments. 

Ben Powers | LG | Grade: 45.1

As noted by Palczewski, Powers wasn’t great, and he struggled against Arik Armstead, allowing three pressures in 18 pass-blocking snaps. Where Powers did upgrade was in the run game, even though he had five snaps as a run blocker. Powers' sample size in this game makes it a bit weird. 

Other Noteworthy Grades

December 21, 2025, Denver, Colorado, USA: Broncos WR PAT BRYANT looks for an opening in traffic after a catch during the 2nd. Half at Empower Field at Mile High Sunday afternoon. The Broncos lose to the Jaguars 34-20. | Hector Acevedo / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Deondrea Tillman | OLB | Grade: 72.7

Tillman gives the Broncos excellent depth at pass rusher and has been stout as a run defender as well. It's hard to get him more playing time given their depth, but he deserves it. It wouldn’t be a surprise if other teams call about Tillman's availability in a trade during the offseason. 

Nik Bonitto | OLB | Grade: 68.5

It was a good game from Bonitto with the attention he got and the disruption he caused. What stood out most was that it came more as a run defender than as a pass rusher. 

Pat Bryant | WR | Grade: 62.9

The good news is that Bryant is doing better after the bad hit he took when the game was out of reach. He had a good game for the Broncos, but he may never be a legitimate No. 2 receiver, and the Broncos need one badly. 

Troy Franklin | WR | Grade: 61.3

Statistically, this wasn’t a great game for Franklin, but he played well when you turn on the tape. That said, he may be best utilized as a third receiver, which puts more pressure on the Broncos to find a legitimate second guy for a room that is Sutton and a bunch of niche skill sets that are third- or fourth-receiver quality.