Champ Bailey stood near an exit in the Denver locker room Sunday, rubbing lotion on his tackle-weary arms after the Broncos’ first loss of the season.
Bailey spoke about the necessity for a quick cleansing of his football team.
“We have no choice but to fix it right now,” Bailey said. “We can’t sit here and wait around. We have to get it right this week. We have a tough one coming up and we have to get some wins going. We have to right now.”
Denver will face a daunting task after a flat, mistake-filled 23-14 loss to Jacksonville, in which the Broncos’ defense was at its worst during the young season. Now it must deal with Broncos tormentors Indianapolis and San Diego.
“We’re going to see some tough offenses,” Bailey said. “It’s time to buckle down.”
After being shredded by cautious Jaguars quarterback David Garrard and a suddenly lively Jaguars running game, the Broncos have to step into Peyton Manning’s den and deal with the Colts, who have been a monumental problem for Denver in recent years.
After taking punches from the Colts, the Broncos have a huge AFC West matchup with San Diego, which likely will be Denver’s biggest challenger for the division title despite struggling right now at 1-2.
The plan at Dove Valley was to dispatch Jacksonville, which had scored 23 points in its first two games, then face Manning with a 3-0 record and the confidence of a Super Bowl-ready team.
Now the Broncos’ defense must find a way to bounce back from a miserable afternoon while trying to beat Manning for the first time in four years. Not an ideal situation.
“But what else are we going to do?” asked Denver defensive tackle Amon Gordon. “We have to go and get our confidence back and do it by beating a great quarterback and a great team. Look, we’ve just lost one game. There were some bad things today, but there has mostly been good.”
Not on Sunday.
The Jaguars had their way with Denver’s defense. Jacksonville ran 70 plays compared to Denver’s 42. Jacksonville held the ball for 38 minutes and 42 seconds. The Broncos had the ball only 21:18, which was the lowest time of possession for a Denver team in 15 years.
A major reason Jacksonville hogged the ball was its execution on third down. The Jaguars converted eight-of-16 third-down opportunities. In the first half, when they jumped to a 17-7 lead, they converted 7-of-10 third downs.
“We couldn’t get off the field,” Bailey said. “That’s got to change.”
Denver entered the game ranked No. 1 in the NFL in pass defense after allowing a total of 125 net yards passing against Buffalo and Oakland. Garrard didn’t overwhelm Denver in the air, but he dinked and dunked his way to 14 completions on 20 passes for 154 yards. His longest completion was for 23 yards.
“He’s a very careful quarterback,” Bailey said. “That’s why he hasn’t thrown any picks this year.”
While Garrard completed passes when needed, Jacksonville ran the ball at will against a defense that also gave up big run plays in its first two games. The Jaguars, led by Fred Taylor’s 84 yards, gained 186 yards on 47 carries.
After the game, Denver coach Mike Shanahan called the team’s run defense a concern. Safety Nick Ferguson said the defensive players must work on staying in their gaps.
With the 3-0 Colts, who have scored 93 points, coming up, the time is now for corrections.
“Peyton and the boys will be waiting for us,” Denver linebacker Nate Webster said. “We have to get it back together quick.”
Third and done
Jacksonville converted eight-of-16 third-down opportunities and seven-of-10 in the first half. Here’s a look at the seven conversions in the first half as the Jaguars jumped to a 17-7 lead in their eventual 23-14 victory.
(Qtr Yds. needed Play)
1 3 6-yard completion from QB David Garrard to WR Ernest Wilford
1 1 4-yard pass from Garrard to Wilford
1 3 10-yard run by Maurice Jones-Drew
1 9 10-yard pass from Garrard to Jones-Drew
2 3 3-yard touchdown pass from Garrard to WR Reggie Williams
2 3 8-yard scramble by Garrard
2 10 21-yard pass from Garrard to WR Dennis Northcutt
Staff writer Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-954-1262 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
