In their 20-13 week 11 wins over the Miami Dolphins, the Denver Broncos finally managed to run their offense, which helped the defense. It was easily the Broncos ’best performance of the season as a whole team, but they still have some issues.
Hopefully, Denver can still figure out how to mitigate these issues and keep the rest of the season as it was in this game.
At the individual level, almost everyone played at a good level, which led to a lot of leads for this grade, but more on that later. Let’s get into the grade, but check out the video above for MVP and Bronco with the highest grade from the 11th week.
The positive
Justin Simmons | S.: 89.8
The game-sealing interruption by Simmons was just a spectacular play. He started the season off rough but has since moved on to the back and forth. After the first four games he made it look like last year was a fluke, Simmons is staring at the next office fee that he deserves to get a competitive multi-year extension, but he also shows that his role in defense is really important.
Bradley Chub | OLB: 88.7
Till this game, Chub was a big disappointment as he was coming up against the New York Jets in the third pressure of the season in his third tuna, he looked stale as a run blocker in the previous few weeks and only advanced eight QB pressure in the last three. Games. However, Chubb was back in good form again, weakening the 11 pressure and becoming a force against the run.
Nick Venet | T.E.: 84.5
The Broncos had high hopes for Venet when they found him to be their blocking tight end. So far, nothing less than that disappointment. However, Venet finally showed why he has value as a blocker and what he can offer as a receiver.
Philip Lindsay | RB: 84.3
It was good to see Lindsay finally look completely healthy again, not looking like the same player he had been two weeks ago, although the O-line has done him no favors this season. At week 11, their eruption seemed to have returned to 100% and it was difficult to slow down for the dolphins’ defense.
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Negative
AJ Bauye | C.B.: 42.2
This was Boyne’s fifth game of the season and he struggled, especially early. He only allowed three catches on five targets, but went for a touchdown. His coverage there was loose at other times but missed it with the Dolphins ’quarterback.
Melvin Gordon | RB: 54.6
For the first time, the offense still ended with a positive impact on the game, but he became the lowest-ranked player on that side of the ball. Gordon’s late rumor of it actually dropped his grade. He ran hard in the game and picked up good yards, but it all came back to a potential game-changing mess in the outing quarter.
Bryce Call Hann | C.B.: 57.9
It was one of Kallahan’s worst games this season, and he has little to do with his run defense. Its size issues are highlighted there, which is not surprising. In coverage, he allowed just three catches on eight targets which continues his trend of excellent play in coverage.
Drew Lock | QB: 70.4
Check the grade before hating on the line. QB played a solid game and got barely second grade on offense for players who played qualifying quicks. It was in no way a perfect performance, with no interruptions, pressure from some sluggish legs and panic from the pocket when there was no pressure.
However, it was a game where you could hang his hat from his performance and it was one that could help the Broncos win games if Lok could keep it going. Lake has not shown consistency but moving forward is much needed.
Another notable grade
For the first time, the ‘Other’ category only includes players who performed between positives. Below are two players on offense and on defense who were positive grades and top ranked players outside of MVP.
Dishon Williams | N.T.: 84.9
The big boy has earned himself a role in the defensive line going forward. He has consistency issues to keep being a starter whenever everyone is healthy, but he has shown valuable depth and continues to get better every week.
Garrett Balls | LT: 83.8
Boles has been the MVP of crime this season and he’s not really close. The player we saw shining during his first three seasons is finally showing the consistency needed to stay on the left. Denver would make a mistake if I didn’t keep Boles in town.
Malik Reed | OLB: 82.4
This was Reed’s best and most complete game. It was best to see him as a run defender, not by avoiding obstacles to make a game. He also got his season-high six pressures, 1.5 of which were sacks, and they were all of very high quality.
Reed’s previous four sacks weren’t of the best quality because they were either blocked or considered coverage sucks, but that wasn’t the case in this game.
Tim Patrick | WR: 81.7
If he had seen what he did as a receiver, Patrick would have been the MVP for the game. However, all aspects are factor and Patrick was not so good as a run blocker. It wasn’t up to the outside standard that caused some of the outside runs to be damaged.
