Sounds like a rod came loose. If you have the door panel off, there are also plastic plugs in the doorjam edge of the door. Remove the small oblong plastic cap & look for a rod with a loop in the end that's dangling free. There's probably a little plastic ferrel that either broke or popped out of a cast lever which is part of the outside door handle. Find or get a new grommet & coax it back in place, on the loop end of the rod & push it back into the larger hole in the cast lever. Put a dab of JB Weld on it so you don't have to do it again.