Patriots vs. Broncos: Full Report Card Grades for New England
The New England Patriots and Tom Brady finally get over the hump in Denver. Brady entered this game with a career record of 2-7 against the Broncos, so there was no way he was going to drop another game in the Mile High City.
In a gritty game that kicked it old school to the Bruschi-era defense, the Patriots achieved victory by winning the field-position battle, forcing turnovers, playing inspired defense and being opportunistic on offense.
When the Patriots and Broncos play in recent years, it all comes down to protecting Tom Brady. The Patriots prevailed in the battle and ultimately won the war thanks to the offensive line's stellar performance.
Offensively, Dion Lewis had a career day, and the Patriots did all the small things well to clinch their NFL- record eighth straight AFC East title.
Read on for the full grades from the New England Patriots' 16-3 win over the Denver Broncos, which also clinched a first-round bye.
Quarterback
1 of 10
The start was far from pretty. Tom Brady started the game with six consecutive incompletions. In fact, this was the first time since week 15 of 2009 that Brady had gone an entire first quarter without completing a pass.
Then, Brady went on an 8-for-10 spree where he connected with his old buddy Julian Edelman for some big plays that led to a LeGarrette Blount rushing touchdown.
From a stat-based perspective, Brady was not very good. He completed 16 of his 32 passes for only 188 yards. But, Brady did the things that don't show up on the stat sheet. He worked the pocket, avoided sacks and didn't make any costly mistakes.
Brady's best place was also his scariest as he evaded pressure and lobbed a ball just over the outstretched arm of Darian Stewart to convert a third-down pass to Edelman.
If not for a terrible start, Brady didn't have a terrible game given that the Broncos are a tough team to throw on.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 10
Have a day, Dion Lewis!
It was the best game on the ground of Lewis' career, which must have been big moment for the kid who missed the playoff matchup with Denver after tearing his ACL last season.
Lewis ran the ball 18 times for 95 yards by zigging and zagging his way through the Broncos' porous front. Lewis' shifty moves and excellent vision were on full display as the elusive back is officially back and hopefully back for a deep playoff run.
LeGarrette Blount picked up a franchise-record 15th rushing touchdown to push him past Curtis Martin. Other than the TD run, Blount was quiet and largely ineffective.
James White shot himself in the foot with multiple drops, including a couple on key third downs early on. White recovered and nearly broke free for a long touchdown off a slant route in the second half.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver
3 of 10
Well, the story for this one was Julian Edelman and then everybody else.
Edelman was targeted 12 times and hauled in six receptions for 75 yards. His spectacular catch over two defenders while cutting toward the sideline and somehow managing to toe-touch both feet inbounds was a thing of beauty. Edelman was fighting off hits left and right and stretched for a key third down.
Other than Edelman, Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell combined for three targets and just two catches for 32 yards. Mitchell's catch did push the Patriots deep in the red zone for a drive that ended in a Gostkowski field goal. Mitchell also cleared out space on a big Martellus Bennett catch.
Hogan had one bad drop that will be sure to haunt him.
The wide receivers weren't great, but that's a testament to how good the Broncos cornerbacks are.
Grade: C+
Tight End
4 of 10
Martellus Bennett did a whole lot of nothing up until a late catch that went for 34 yards. That play ended up being the Patriots' longest play of the day.
Bennett did plant a good block on a Dion Lewis run that went for 14 yards, too.
He's starting to look a bit healthier, and with Bennett on the mend, the Patriots can be more explosive offensively.
Grade: B-
Offensive Line
5 of 10
If I could give an award for the positional unit of the day, it would go to the offensive line without a doubt.
Marcus Cannon, yes the same Marcus Cannon the Broncos normally put on roller skates, had one of the best games of his career. He shut down Von Miller who didn't have a single sack, let alone even a QB hit for the day.
Nate Solder shut down the other tackle position, and Shaq Mason landed some solid blocks.
As a whole unit, they pushed the smaller Broncos run-stoppers backward and established a presence on the ground and they protected Brady who was only sacked twice.
Outside of a couple of holding calls on Joe Thuney and David Andrews, the Patriots were nearly flawless.
The way to beat the Broncos is to win the battle up front, and the Patriots dominated.
Grade: A
Defensive Line
6 of 10
A close second for positional group of the day goes to the defensive line. The only reason why is because the Broncos offensive line is an easier matchup than facing Von Miller.
They shut down the run as the Broncos only ran the ball 17 times for 58 yards, which is a lowly 3.4 yards per carry. Malcom Brown and Alan Branch were key cogs in stopping the run. When Branch gets going, he can blow up run plays as he did with an impact stop early in the game.
Have a day, Trey Flowers! Flowers picked up his sixth and seventh sacks of the season and is making us all ask the question "Chandler Jones who?"
Flowers is rushing the passer from various spots and impacting plays even when he doesn't get to the quarterback.
Meanwhile Jabaal Sheard had an excellent game as he drew holding calls, recorded a sack and two QB hits and played an all-around great game.
Grade: A+
Linebacker
7 of 10
Kyle Van Noy had another great performance as the Patriots now have a stable of contributing linebackers with Van Noy, Shea McClellin, Elandon Roberts and Dont'a Hightower leading the way.
Van Noy checked into the game early on to provide some strong coverage on a deep route to the end zone. His play held the Broncos to a field goal and their only points of the day.
Later Van Noy snuffed out a screen play by diagnosing the Broncos' play call early and stuffing them for a loss.
It wasn't just Van Noy, but he had the big moments in a solid group performance.
Grade: A-
Secondary
8 of 10
I'll be the first to say Trevor Siemian isn't a very good quarterback, but the Patriots did their job.
Logan Ryan had the game of the day with seven tackles and the biggest play of the game—an interception he returned 46 yards. Ryan's interception sparked life into Brady and the offense and led to a Blount touchdown.
A name we didn't hear all game was Malcolm Butler's, but that is because Siemian didn't throw the ball his way. Butler absolutely shut down Emmanuel Sanders.
Meanwhile, Devin McCourty had another big game by being a stout tackler as he stopped former Patriot tight end A.J. Derby from dragging him along for a ride to a first down. McCourty then ended the game with a monster hit on Demaryius Thomas to break up a pass and then had the game-clinching fumble recovery.
Grade: A
Special Teams
9 of 10
The game plan called for a heavy dose of really good special teams and the Patriots delivered. In low-scoring contests, field position is the way to win games.
Ryan Allen's punting was on point as he pinned the Broncos inside the 20-yard line three times with the help of some excellent coverage by Jonathan Jones and Matthew Slater. Jones also recovered a muffed punt on the first punt of the game as he fended off two Broncos to corral the football.
Barkevious Mingo planted a bone-crunching hit on a punt, which was another moment of excellent coverage.
The days of Stephen Gostkowski's rust are long gone as he went 3-for-3 in the Mile High City.
And the Patriots didn't fumble on special teams...Cyrus Jones was a healthy scratch.
Grade: A+
Coaching
10 of 10
Bill Belichick knew this game wouldn't be an easy one to win. The Broncos play tough football especially in Denver and in order to win the Patriots needed to neutralize the Broncos pass rush and attack the run defense.
Belichick didn't employ the use of Blount, which made me scratch my head at first. Then, I realized Belichick wanted to use the shifty back to slip between the defense and allow the offensive line to create big holes. Belichick liked his offensive line versus the Broncos defensive line, and he was right.
The Patriots attacked on the ground with their running backs and also made plays happen over the middle of the field as they knew Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. would stop plays from happening on the outside of the field.
The Patriots dominated time of possession, and the special teams execution, along with the game plan, was flawless.
Grade: A
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