Broncos' individual player grades for Week 4 revealed

How did the Broncos' players grade out in the team's Week 4 loss to Jacksonville?

It was another brutal loss at home for the Denver Broncos in Week 4. The Broncos let a team that has struggled to run the ball, run all over them and that is after dominating the first half of the game. 

There is not much positive from this game, especially with how both sides of the ball completely fell off a cliff in the second half. Going over this game was not fun, but it was a must in order to hand out my grades.

Usually, there are three sets of four players equaling 12 total players graded — four positive grades, four negative and four others that just need to get talked about. This week there is a 13th player that will get graded. 

This one player wins a special award for this game. It wasn’t easy to analyze this game with all the negative play that occurred, but I got through it. 

This grading system has been honed and adapted for the last five-plus years. Each player starts with a grade of 50, and it will either get raised or lowered based on each snap and the player's impact on the play.

A cornerback on the backside of a run shedding a block will get a slight raise to their grade, but a corner shedding a block in the run path at the point of attack will get a higher raise in their grade, as they have a bigger impact on the result of the play.

The Good

Emmanuel Sanders, WR: 87.1

Sanders has been the fire of the offense. He gave the Jaguars' defense issues with his quick route running and made multiple big plays for the offense, going over 100 yards receiving. Sanders deserves a major hat-tip for having his leg bend funny, toughing it out through the final drive and continuing to make an impact. Sanders is a big part of this offense and his effort and play has been wasted on a bad team.

Garett Bolles, LT: 85.7

In back-to-back weeks, Bolles has really put together a strong performance. There were two plays in Week 4 that he could have been called for holding, with one of them being ticky-tack. He is playing with good technique and following the play-call. This was a tough matchup and he limited pressures and didn’t add any sacks to the one he has given up all season.

Von Miller, OLB: 84.6

It was a big game from Miller, which we should have seen coming. He was focused on the Jaguars and made it clear with his play. There was an intensity in him in Week 4 and he was constantly getting into the face of the quarterback. Miller’s run defense continued to be strong as it has been all season.

Bradley Chubb, OLB: 81.9

Chubb finally got a sack, and he really hounded Gardner Minshew. Chubb's run defense was also pretty stout. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a strong game. Additionally, his play drew multiple flags from the Jaguars' offensive line, though that doesn’t get calculated into the grading formula.

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The Bad

Will Parks, S: 12.7

Stop me if you have heard this before with regard to Parks' play, but missed tackles, blown coverage, blown running assignments, dumb mental errors and just giving up on plays. There was nothing about Parks' game out there that should make anyone comfortable with him continuing to be a starter on this team. Denver missed Kareem Jackson badly, and if the team had him starting and not Parks, the Broncos may have won.

Chris Harris, Jr., CB: 21.3

Harris is a fan favorite, and he likes to talk the talk, too bad he hasn't been able to walk the walk. He has done a poor job in coverage the last few weeks, giving up nearly every target his way, and in Week 4 he gave up a touchdown but was bailed out when it was called back due to a penalty. Also, he typically is a good run defender, but he has been taking it easy and backpedaling away from contact. He has made it clear he wants out of Denver.

Justin Simmons, FS: 21.5

It was a bad game from Simmons. He did have one splash play in coverage, but it just wasn’t enough. Simmons missed multiple tackles, blew coverage, blew running assignments and made dumb mental errors. These have all been issues that have continued to plague his game. Denver needs better and if they aren’t going to get it from him, perhaps the front office should trade him.

Shelby Harris, NT: 29.2

Harris has struggled handing power as the nose tackle, and is just getting bullied. It isn’t his natural position, and teams are exploiting that weakness. Denver faced a team that likes to run between the tackles, right at the nose tackle, which really exposed Harris’ weakness. Denver needs to consider making a move to put him in his natural position and putting their true nose in the game (Mike Purcell).

Other Grades of Note

Elijah Wilkinson, RT: 76.3

Having given up five sacks, with two of them being strip-sacks, this was a concerning game for Wilkinson. The Jaguars' edge rushers have plenty of speed, which is the Wilkinson's kryptonite. He managed to hold his own, though, limiting the number of pressures. The offensive line gave up no sacks, which was a positive as a whole.

Noah Fant, TE: 74.0

It was a solid game from Fant. He made multiple plays as a receiver and had some good blocking plays as well. There were some bad blocks, and he was flagged for one holding foul, but he is showing growth in that department. The tight end position takes time to come together, but the early returns from Fant have been solid.

Phillip Lindsay, RB: 71.5

No one plays with more heart than Lindsay. His vision is a strength of his, and when he uses it, great things happen. There were some runs where he missed open lanes, but he is slowing working his way back to 2018 form. Denver needs him to be the player he was last year with his vision.

Dalton Risner, LG: 62.1

Risner has had some really tough matchups the last three weeks and he continues to be solid. He did give up a couple of pressures on the interior and missed some blocks in the ground game, but mostly he was solid out there. As long as he keeps growing, and he has shown plenty of growth week-to-week, Denver will have a good left guard on their offensive line.

Worst grade of the season thus far

Justin Hollins, LB: 2.4

Two touchdowns came from Hollins being exploited in coverage. His run defense wasn’t there, and he consistently clogged the wrong running lanes. He was a mess in coverage and looked lost a lot of the time. It was clear he was a rookie, and the game looks to be too big for him right now. 

Follow Erick on Twitter @ErickTrickel and @MileHighHuddle.