Denver Broncos defense shines in win over Jaguars, while offense sputters: By the numbers

The Denver Broncos (8-4) earned an ugly win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

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The good, the wild and the devoted of Sunday's Broncos tailgate. (Chloe Aiello/Denverite)

The Broncos beat the Jaguars on Sunday. It wasn't pretty. (Chloe Aiello/Denverite)

The Denver Broncos (8-4) earned an ugly win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Denver, playing without Trevor Siemian, did just enough to come away with a 20-10 victory and regain an AFC playoff spot.

Here’s Denver’s win by the numbers:

20 — Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles targeted Broncos cornerbacks Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby 20 times. The trio allowed just six catches for 57 yards, per Pro Football Focus. Harris Jr., Talib and Roby also broke up four of those passes and intercepted two. Roby’s pick-six — assisted by Von Miller — was a game changer.

0 — Broncos rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch completed zero of the five passes he attempted 20-plus yards downfield. Lynch was inaccurate all day. He missed two deep throws in situations when Broncos receivers beat Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Lynch finished the day 12 of 24 for 104 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

10 — The Denver offense had 10 first downs all game. The unit ran 54 plays at 3.8 yards a pop. It’s difficult to win when your offense is that inept.

1 — The Broncos converted one — one! — third down in 13 tries. Suboptimal.

1 — Denver scored one rushing touchdown, which was its only offensive touchdown of the game. Devontae Booker’s 6-yard run in the second quarter made it 7-3, Denver. Prior to that, the Broncos hadn’t scored a touchdown on the ground since they played the Chargers in Week 8.

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