Horse Tracks: Loss to the Jags could be a necessary reset

The post-game pressers were a parade of players spitting out the cliché talking points Broncos PR had no doubt emphasized — “just need to learn from the loss,” “watch the tape and move on,” “correct our mistakes and get ready for the next game,” yada, yada, yada.

Bo Nix and Marvin Mims both noted that the team “got kicked in the mouth” with the 34-20 loss at home to the visiting Jaguars.

“I think we’ve been doing really good this season getting over stuff. This one is different. We got kicked in the mouth today,” Mims said. “So at the end of the day, we just have to get over it and start preparing for Kansas City on Thursday.”

Mike McGlinchey pointed out that “losing sucks” no matter if it’s the beginning of the season or near the end.

“You have to take lessons from each game, whether it’s a win or a loss. You have to find ways to improve, and we’re going to do that,” McGlinchey promised. “Certainly it stings, it definitely stings to lose like this to a team that was just about as hot as we were. It was a big matchup, and they played better than us today.”

And PJ Locke said the short week makes it even more important to switch your mindset to the next one.

“[We get over it] the same way we do with the wins. It’s on to the next game,” Locke said. “You kind of digest it for a day, watch the film in the morning and move on. That’s it.”

There’s a reason, of course, that these phrases become cliché — because they are used so often to describe a common situation that they become expected. And then they tend to lack authenticity.

But these need to be true for this team.

Despite their many wins, the Broncos have not been a consistent or dominant team on both sides of the ball for more than a few games this season. And many of the victories have come against bad teams, struggling teams, or teams without key players — making the win just a little less trustworthy when it comes to predicting success in the postseason.

And instead of building off their momentum from the win over the Packers last week, the Broncos “let it get away” against the Jags, as Nix said.

But to use a different cliché, there could be a silver lining here.

Beyond the obvious “learn from it and move on” mantra, the Broncos needed a stark reminder that they are not playoff-ready — and any fan who thought they were just because they had learned to win the close games wasn’t paying attention to why the Broncos were in so many close games.

Penalties, drops, lucky breaks on near interceptions — the kinds of mistakes that generally don’t go your way in a playoff game where the stakes are high and the opponent is good.

Topher Doll pointed out in last week’s Ultimate Fan Guide that Denver has been “living on a razor’s edge” with its wins, and I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I’m one of those superstitious fans who started to wonder if all the wins were too good to be true — and that a loss before the playoffs might not be a bad thing.

Don’t get me wrong; I would have preferred a win. But a confidence-inspiring win, not a heart attack-inducing one. The loss to the Jags could be the necessary “reset” Denver needs.

And I think even Nix agrees with me.

“We got hit in the mouth today; they played a good game and we let it get away,” the quarterback said. “But you’d rather have it hit you now than in the first round of playoffs. I wouldn’t call it a wake-up call because we were playing well. It’s just one of those that will reset you and put you back in, get you back to where you need to be. It’ll put you in a good mindset if you’ll let it.”