Broncos Player Grades From Fumbled 31-21 Loss to Jets

How did the Denver Broncos grade out in their third home loss of the season?

The Denver Broncos fell to 0-3 at home as they fumbled away their chance to win against the New York Jets. It was an embarrassing performance from all three phases of Denver's football team. 

It's a shame the Broncos have a short week before facing the Kansas City Chiefs, but then they get a mini-bye before taking on the Green Bay Packers. There could be multiple changes in Denver during that mini-bye week. 

There isn't much else to say, so let's get to the grades. 

As for the grades, a player starts at 50 and gets graded for each play based on how he impacts the overall play. Keep in mind that some players qualify for a grade but go unmentioned in these articles because my goal is to emphasize the noteworthy performances each week, for better or worse. 

Offensive MVP: Jaleel McLaughlin | RB

Grade: 69.8

Denver needs to get McLaughlin the ball more and do it consistently throughout the game. He had four touches for 63 yards and a touchdown on the Broncos' first drive. He didn't touch the ball during the second drive and added three touches for 20 yards on the third. That was all before that half. 

McLaughlin had seven touches for 82 yards and a touchdown on two drives in the first half, but ended the game with 12 touches for 89 yards and a touchdown. He received three touches for zero yards over the first four drives of the second half. That stinks, but with a player like McLaughlin, you'll have those bad plays, but you stick with it for the explosive upside. 

The rookie's speed is excellent, and his vision improved greatly compared to the previous game. McLaughlin's blocking did him little favors, but he showed some ability to create for himself. Denver has to find a way to use him more consistently and stick with him instead of being so unbalanced with his usage. 

Also, having 12 touches, with a 13th target that went uncaught on only 20 snaps, reveals that he maximized the reps he got. 

Defensive MVP: Patrick Surtain | CB

Grade: 65.2

This was the type of game Broncos Country expected from Surtain. He was targeted seven times, allowing three catches for 31 yards. 

Surtain intercepted a pass in the clutch and saw a drop. What was great was seeing him be physical in his play against the run. 

Quarterback: Russell Wilson

Grade: 38.6

This will rattle some feathers, but most of the pressure and three sacks fall on Wilson. His inability to read defenses pre-snap and adjust the blocking and play reared its ugly head again. 

The Jets showed simulated pressure on three similar play-calls. All three ended in Wilson being sacked, but one of them was erased with a penalty, and that was on the Broncos' first two-point attempt conversion. 

The Jets did almost the same thing on the strip-sack touchdown return to end the game. Wilson never adjusted. A few plays before that, the Jets did the same thing but flipped, and he had no adjustment. The offensive line didn't win, but Wilson allowed multiple free rushers. 

On another sack Wilson took, he had time and panicked in the pocket, missing a receiver for a first down. This game saw Wilson look like the guy Denver got last year. He was gun-shy and didn't want to throw to receivers unless there wasn't a defender within three yards of them. 

This wasn't all on Wilson, but he did the offense no favors. Going into the fourth quarter, he was 10-of-16 with 66 yards and a touchdown on a screen with a bad pass to the running back. The Broncos have gotten much better from him this season, and they need him to get back to that and start building off that. 

Hopefully, this was a one-time game this season, but it came against the best pass defense Denver has faced so far, and they're getting ready to face even tougher ones over the next six games, including the Chiefs. 

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The Positive

Kareem Jackson | S | Grade: 59.7 

The aging of Jackson is apparent, but he looked close to his old self in this one. He scanned plays and reacted in a timely matter. The issue is his angles are not great, and with his drop in speed and quickness, there is no forgiveness for bad angles. 

Jerry Jeudy | WR | Grade: 56.7

If Jeudy can give a constant effort as a run defender, that would be great. However, teams can guess it'll be a pass and be right nearly 90% of the time whenever he's on the field. He did well working as a receiver, but you need more as a blocker, and Jeudy is a blocking liability. 

Ja'Quan McMillian | CB | Grade: 56.6

It was a solid game overall from McMillian. He played tight coverage, allowed only two catches for 11 yards, and did well against the run. 

McMillian didn't have the big plays to boost his grade but also didn't get hit for any significant deductions for his grade. The play in the slot has settled since Denver switched from Essang Bassey to McMillian, despite all the other issues with the defense. 

Samaje Perine | RB | Grade: 54.6

It wasn't a good game, but a couple of big plays helped Perine's grade finish above average. His grade would be the lowest of all players outside of three plays. Denver signed him to a sizeable deal for a running back, and it isn't panning out well so far. 

The Negative

Damarri Mathis | CB | Grade: 37.4

It would be a surprise if Mathis were still a starter after Denver's game against the Chiefs. With the mini-bye week, that would be the ideal time to turn to Riley Moss and see what he can do. Mathis struggled in coverage, as he has all season, and had almost no positive impact against the run. 

Mike Purcell | DL | Grade: 39.9

Purcell started the game decently but fell off near the end of the second quarter. On Breece Hall's 72-yard  touchdown run, Purcell got bullied out of position. Purcell wasn't the only problem, but his collapse had the domino effect to allow the run to go the way it did. 

Mike McGlinchey | OT | Grade: 40.1

McGlinchey did alright as a run blocker, helped create running lanes, and did well climbing to the second level. That was what he was paid to do. However, he has always had issues in pass protection, and he was getting whipped pretty consistently by a deep Jets pass rush. 

Ben Powers | OG | Grade: 42.7

This was the worst game from Powers, and he was outmatched. He only gave up one pressure and did well in pass protection, but his run blocking was terrible. There was one play where a linebacker crossed his face, and he turned the other way and blocked no one. 

Other Noteworthy Grades

Zach Allen | DL | Grade: 51.9

Denver paid Allen a lot of money, and he hasn't lived up to it. While he did well as a pass rusher, picking up a sack with four total pressures, the issue was his extremely poor run defense. The Jets controlled him consistently. 

Nik Bonitto | OLB | Grade: 47.5

Bonitto has done a great job picking up some sacks, but that was all he did against the Jets. He had no other stats besides his two sacks. The Jets attacked him on the ground, and teams will continue to do that with how bad he has been. There was one excellent run play where he shot the gap but couldn't make the tackle. 

Lloyd Cushenberry III | C | Grade: 45.6

Cushenberry had a couple of great blocks early in the game, but after the first quarter, he struggled a lot. The Jets attacked him in the passing game and stonewalled him multiple times on the ground. 

Quinn Meinerz | IOG | Grade: 44.8

While a few good snaps were working as a lead blocker, Meinerz got beat for a few big plays for the Jets' defense. He has developed a bad habit of lunging into contact, and the Jets saw that and exploited it. 

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