Broncos Stunned by Loss to Jags

DENVER (AP) -- Dazed, demoralized and bitterly disappointed, the Denver Broncos had only themselves to blame for a 30-27 loss to the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday. When they weren't praising the Jaguars, that is.

``I'm just really stunned,'' Broncos safety Steve Atwater said. ``I hadn't even considered a scenario with us losing the ballgame. I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow.''

``It's a terrible feeling,'' cornerback Lionel Washington added. ``We knew we had to stop the run with Natrone (Means) and to contain (quarterback Mark) Brunell. We didn't do either.''

For much of the AFC divisional playoff game, the Broncos were their own worst enemy.

With Denver leading 12-3 midway through the second quarter, Denver rookie cornerback Tory James intercepted Brunell's pass in Jacksonville territory, but James was whistled for pass interference. The Jaguars maintained possession and scored a field goal eight plays later to cut the deficit to 12-3.

``It didn't look like interference to me,'' James said. ``I guess the referee saw something else. It was a key play, but I don't think one call makes the whole game. We had to come back on defense and stop them, and we didn't.''

Late in the third quarter with Jacksonville lined up to punt, the Broncos were called for having 12 men on the field when defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry didn't get off the field in time. The Jaguars got a first down on the penalty and later scored a field goal for a 23-12 advantage.

``They called me for not being all the way off the field,'' Perry said. ``I thought I was off. They probably call that penalty one in a million. That's just petty. That's the way the day went.''

Perry preferred to focus on the bigger picture.

``It was all Jacksonville,'' he said. ``How many yards did they have rushing, 300 (actually 203)? You can't win any game giving up 300 yards on the ground. And give Jacksonville credit. They made big plays over and over, especially Brunell.

``You always hear from coaches and players that a quarterback can't beat you running the ball. But after seeing that guy (Brunell) scramble and run like he did, I know he can beat you with his feet as well as his arm. We couldn't tackle Means for nothing, and we couldn't tackle Brunell, either.''

Denver's John Elway is the only player who experienced a similar playoff loss by the Broncos. In 1984, the Broncos went 13-3 and had a first-round bye in the playoffs, then lost their first game, at home. They duplicated that failure on Saturday.

``I'd have to say this was more disappointing, maybe because it's now,'' Elway said. ``This is what we worked so hard for, and we didn't take advantage of our situation. I thought we had a team that would make it (Super Bowl) happen.''

Elway denied that Denver's layoff was a factor. It clinched homefield advantage throughout the playoffs on Dec. 1 and then played three meaningless games before having a bye last week.

``We weren't flat,'' he said. ``We were ready to play. They just played better. They played a perfect game. They didn't have any penalties (actually three for 18 yards), and Brunell played great. We got it going in the fourth quarter, but they made the plays and kept us chasing them.''

Safety Tyrone Braxton agreed. ``I don't think we lost our edge,'' he said. ``We started out strong, but they came back and whipped us.''

Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe offered the darkest assessment.

``No matter what happens in the next three or four years, we'll always look back and say, `I can't believe we lost this one,''' he said. ``I don't think I'll ever be in a better situation than we had this year. Everything was just so ideal. And to have it slip away -- this sets the organization back four years, at least. It's going to be the year 2000 before we can ever recover from this.''

And what are the chances of Elway, now 36, still being around then?

© Copyright 1997 The Associated Press

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