The Denver Broncos could not win their 12th game in a row, falling to the Jacksonville Jaguars at home in Week 16. This was a flat-out brutal loss, as Denver didn't consistently find a groove on either side of the ball and were really humbled by a very good Jaguars' team.
Denver was able to hang around for most of the game, but the Jaguars were able to pull away and not allow the Broncos to come back in. Unfortunately, the Broncos not only had to deal with a red-hot Jaguars' team, but they were also on the receiving end of some objectively awful penalties that extended Jaguars' drives and led to points.
It's a harsh reality that the fans in attendance had to see, but there were numerous calls that just did not make sense. Overall, the Broncos would tell you that they needed to play better, but they are surely also thinking that the officiating was bad.
Denver Broncos' Week 16 loss is partly thanks to shaky officiating, like it or not
The first call that really seemed to go against the Broncos was the unnecessary roughness penalty on PJ Locke III, who very clearly could not hear the whistle being blown. Locke continued his pursuit into QB Trevor Lawrence and got flagged.
Another infraction that just did not make any sense was the pass interference called on Jahdae Barron in the end zone, which set the Jaguars up with a fresh set of downs. Barron was barely making contact but got flagged.
Perhaps the most egregious, though, was the roughing the passer call on Malcolm Roach. The penalty was apparently because he used his entire bodyweight to sack Lawrence, and even that was questionable.
Overall, a loss is a loss, but the officiating was downright terrible today, and I haven't even mentioned the multiple instances where the play clock hit zero before the Jaguars snapped the ball.