After a 22-19 win over Kansas City on Nov. 16, the Broncos went on their bye week. If you ask outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, their defense still hasn’t fully returned from then.

Entering their bye week, the Broncos had given up an average of 17.5 points and 274.4 yards in 11 games. In the four games since then, they’ve allowed an average of 25.8 points and 339 yards. That includes giving up a season-high point total in Sunday’s ugly 34-20 loss to Jacksonville at Empower Field at Mile High.

“(I’m) obviously concerned defensively,’’ Bonitto said after the defeat ended an 11-game winning streak. “I feel like these last couple weeks, we haven’t been playing to our standard. So, I can only speak on us. I just feel like we’re not playing our type of ball, that’s all. … We haven’t played our type of ball since the bye week, I feel like, and we just got to be better.”

Before the bye week, it was Denver’s defense carrying the offense. Since then, it has been the opposite.

Since the bye week, Denver won 27-26 at Washington in overtime, won 24-17 at Las Vegas and defeated Green Bay 34-26 at home prior to the loss to the Jaguars. The Broncos are 12-3 and will claim the AFC West and have the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed if they win their final two games, but there remains concern about the defense.

The Broncos in 2024 had issues on defense late in the season, which included losses of 34-27 at the Los Angeles Chargers and 30-24 at Cincinnati in overtime in late December and a 31-7 wipeout at Buffalo to open the playoffs. Denver coach Sean Payton was asked Monday if the defense is again fading late in the season.

“I don’t buy it,” Payton said. “Our defense played pretty well (in the win over the Packers). You look for those trends, and I think our defense has been outstanding this year. They played a good offense (Sunday), and, look, they struggled. We didn’t play well (Sunday) defensively. But certainly, the week before against a good offense, we played well and had a big win. So I don’t see it.”

Against the Packers, the Broncos gave up 251 yards in the first half but did rebound in the second half to allow just 111 yards. But there was no doubt Sunday that Denver’s defense was shaky throughout the game.

“We didn’t tackle,’’ said defensive lineman Zach Allen. “We didn’t execute on defense. When you do those two things, you aren’t going to be in a great spot.”

The Broncos had shoddy tackling throughout the game. Although they did have five sacks of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, he often had too much time to throw.

Lawrence completed 23 of 36 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score. The Jaguars had 315 yards of total offense in the first three quarters in taking a 31-17 lead before they were more conservative in the fourth quarter and finished with 346.

“They did a good job passing the ball,’’ said defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, who had two of the Broncos’ sacks. “I think we made more mistakes. We have to play better. We have to make tackles.”

Franklin-Myers and Allen both expressed optimism Broncos’ defense will regroup down the stretch. And it would be a stunner if Denver’s ‘D’ isn’t dominant Thursday at Kansas City.

With star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and backup Gardner Minshew out with knee injuries, the Chiefs are down to third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun. With the inexperienced Oladokun in line to start on Christmas night and the Chiefs (6-9) falling apart this season after winning nine straight AFC West titles, the Broncos are a whopping 12.5-point favorite.

But the defense might need to step up in Week 18 if Denver is to win its first division title since 2015. Assuming the Broncos beat the Chiefs, if the Chargers (11-4) defeat Houston at home Saturday, Los Angeles will come to Denver for the Jan. 3 or 4 regular-season finale for a showdown for the AFC West crown.

The Chargers defeated the Broncos 23-20 in Los Angeles on Sept. 21, so they would win a potential tiebreaker for the division title. Even if the Chargers are eliminated Saturday from the AFC West race, they still would play in Week 18 for postseason positioning and Denver might need a win to secure the AFC’s top seed.

The Broncos could be shorthanded at inside linebacker at Kansas City and perhaps also against the Chargers. Dre Greenlaw suffered a hamstring injury while converging on running back Travis Etienne on the play before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter Sunday and was noticeably limping after the game. It remains to be seen how long Greenlaw might be out. He was listed as a non-participant on an estimated injury report Monday, with the Broncos not practicing.

Justin Strnad, Denver’s top reserve linebacker, was listed as a full participant on the estimated report after sitting out against the Jaguars due to a foot injury suffered against the Packers. He could end up starting for Greenlaw against the Chiefs.

For now, Bonitto is adamant the Broncos must return to the defensive form they showed before the bye week.

“I felt like we could have won all our games the rest of the way out, but we just got to be better after this,’’ he said after Sunday’s defeat.