The Denver Broncos had some shining moments and plenty of bad ones, as this report card shows.
The Denver Broncos were all over the map in their performance against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, which made grading a tough task. Sam Jane of the Denver Post took a run at it, though, and he came up with an interesting assessment that’s well worth reviewing.
Offense B-
The first half was ugly, the third quarter was better, the fourth quarter was better than that. That came out to a B- for Jane, who noted that quarterback Bo Nix’s first half stats included going 6-of-12 for 53 yards to produce a QB rating of 62.2 to go with nothing on the board with either touchdowns or interceptions. The eye test included multiple ugly throws, some missed assignments in the running game, sketchy play calling and more. But the fourth quarter numbers elevate the grade back up to a B-, as Jane noted it was one of the Broncos' best comebacks ever.
Defense A-
The Denver defense looked overwhelmed during the Rams’ first touchdown drive, but they managed to stiffen and make a few plays in the second quarter. That kept LA from cashing in on several scoring opportunities, and the festival of field goals that followed left the Broncos down 16-0 instead of creating a much larger deficit.
Safety Talanoa Hufanga was the hero in the second half, but there was also that dreadful slip by cornerback Riley Moss that allowed Konata Mumpfield to go the distance from 48 yards out. It was another mixed performance aside from Hufanga, but the Broncos did force two turnovers and score a defensive touchdown.
Special Teams D+
The Broncos should have had an advantage given the generally poor quality of the Rams’ special teams, but instead it was Denver that put out the poor effort. But kicker Wil Lutz missed from 43 yards out while his Rams counterpart, Harrison Mavis, made all four of his attempts. Returner Kolbe Katsis also had a rough day, as he muffed one punt to go with a lone return that stood out.
Coaching B-
The Broncos have settled into a pattern of playing poor first halves and good-to-great second ones, and this game was no exception. Denver gets some credit for finally finding the running back at times, and new offensive coordinator Davis Webb did finally manage to get Nix in rhythm. But the coaching hero was defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who came up with a great game plan for the second half to finally slow the Rams down.
