Broncos vs Falcons: Live Game Grades and Player Analysis for Denver

The final score out of the Georgia Dome leaves the Atlanta Falcons in the lead over the Denver Broncos 27-21.

Surprisingly enough, following four first quarter turnovers, Denver did manage to make a game out of it.

The Falcons managed only a total of -3 offensive yards in the fourth quarter before their game-ending final drive to kill the clock. But that was just enough to put the nails in the coffin and slide Denver to a 1-1 record going into Week 3 of NFL action.

Peyton Manning

Fourth Quarter Game Grade: B+

Peyton Manning did a lot with what was given to him in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough.

He doesn't earn an A because of his inability to get points on the board early in the quarter when they were the most critical. The touchdown late in the fourth can only be considered too little, too late.

He managed to get away from the turnovers and the errant passes that plagued him in the first quarter, but never really moved into the passing gear needed to take this game back for Denver.

He'll need a much better start and an even better finish to make an impact next week against Houston.

Third Quarter Game Grade: B+

Peyton Manning continued to throw more effectively than he had in the first quarter, but still showed signs of uncertainty.

He has yet to truly fall into the ways of play that made his career with the Colts.

Still, there were no errors like in the first quarter, but only because Brandon Stokley stayed alert and made a catch on a high-flying tipped ball during Denver's last drive of the quarter.

Peyton seems more confident than in the first 15 minutes of play, but there's so much room to improve going into the final quarter.

Second Quarter Game Grade: B+

Peyton Manning finished his second half play with a much different look than his first. He found Demaryius Thomas in the endzone  to end the half on a touchdown call that had to be reviewed by the officials before it could be credited.

It was a far cry from the interceptions that plagued him in the first half, but there is still a lot of rust to shake off for the second half.

His accuracy needs to improve, his decision making is nothing like he's displayed for the first 13 years of his career, and his stat line is in bad condition.

Manning will certainly finish this game far from where he would like to, but there is still time to turn this game into a winning effort.

First Quarter Game Grade: F

Peyton Manning began the first quarter with two interceptions in the first 3:10. It could be the noise. Maybe it's the communication between himself and his receivers. Nevertheless, the two picks resulted in a quick 10 points for the Atlanta Falcons.

Shortly afterwards, on Denver's third drive, Manning showed some promise while completing passes to Brandon Stokley and Jacob Tamme. The drive resulted in the same end with Manning throwing his third interception to a third defensive back.

So far Manning has yet to display much of anything to look forward to. But he is Peyton Manning, and this game is still very young.

Offense

Fourth Quarter Game Grade: B+

Once again, the offense did well for the quarter, but not as well as it needed to do to wrap up the game in Denver's favor.

McGahee, Moreno, and Ball each made their case during the quarter. And Eric Decker moved into the punt return position in an effort to make a game-changing play.

While the offense did manage to out-gain the Falcons considerably during the last period of play, it wasn't enough to earn a win.

The story of the game for this squad was a slow start, and some poor acceleration. They'll really need to super-charge this offense if they plan to continue in a winning fashion for the remainder of the season.

Third Quarter Game Grade: C+

Willis McGahee continued his efficiency yet again, as the offense continued its inability to move the chains consistently.

Atlanta's defense should be credited for their hard work against each facet of Denver's game. But they've hardly had to do much against an offensive squad that seems to be giving up.

The sense of urgency seems to have left this offensive unit as the game gets further and further out of reach.

Second Quarter Game Grade: A-

Peyton Manning finally did his job, without turning over the ball.

Willis McGahee is continuing his constant efficiency in the running game.

Demaryius Thomas and the receiving corps finally came through to end the half with a positive result in the endzone.

If Denver's offense can play the second half like they played the last two minutes of the first, they'll have a real chance at this game.

First Quarter Game Grade: D

Right from the start, the Denver offensive starters displayed some serious problems.

The first play from scrimmage was a dropped pass by Demaryius Thomas. The second was a tackle behind the line on a run by Willis McGahee. The third was an interception on a poorly thrown ball by Peyton Manning.

Manning continued on his second and third drives to throw two more interceptions to a total of three different backs.

Meanwhile, McGahee and the Denver receivers picked up their game as they began to come down with Manning's passes and run for some first downs.

McGahee certainly picked up some slack after the third interception and Atlanta's first punt of the evening, running for huge yardage on their first play.

McGahee may be the only person really doing his part for this Denver team early.

Defense

Fourth Quarter Game Grade: A-

The Denver defense was all over Matt Ryan and his backs during the fourth quarter.

Von Miller finally earned a sack, and Elvis Dumervil earned some pressure while jumping past a cut-block on the way to hurrying Ryan in his own endzone. 

The secondary seemed well improved, very suddenly, and managed for the first time to keep Roddy White at bay.

After three quarters of being dismantled on a short field, the Denver defense showed some serious resolve, but came up just short.

The final drive wen in Atlanta's favor, and the clock ticked to triple zeroes with Denver's defense still on the field, and Peyton Manning waiting on the sidelines for another chance.

Third Quarter Game Grade: B+

The defense is still doing its job, but it is falling quickly into the way of exhaustion.

The hands have reached the hips, the pass rush is hit and miss, play-by-play.

This defensive unit made some good plays to keep the Broncos somewhat in the game, but they'll need a serious impact in the fourth quarter to get their team back in the mix.

Second Quarter Game Grade: B+

The defense remains effective through two quarters. They did allow a touchdown to a wide open Tony Gonzalez in the back of the endzone, but considering the time they've spent on the field, it isn't a terrible result.

Von Miller has made his presence known, challenging Matt Ryan's pocket presence and forcing him to throw the ball early.

The secondary still seems a bit lost against Atlanta's receivers, falling victim to bad penalties and missing great opportunities for big plays. They get a B+ for the score staying within reach and some promising play to end the half.

First Quarter Game Grade: B+

The defense has not had a fun start to the game. Intercepting passes from Peyton Manning is an early trend for the Atlanta Falcons' defense, which has resulted in some seriously poor starting field position for Denver's defense.

They've held their ground well, given the offense has turned the ball over so many times this early. The fact that the score is as low as it is is a miracle for this Denver team.

Special Teams

Fourth Quarter Game Grade: A

Consistency is the only thing that can be said of this unit.

There were no big plays, no flashy returns, no real impact. But what they didn't do is mess up. No fumbles, no muffed punts, no reason for this squad to be responsible for the loss.

Eric Decker came in late to replace Jim Leonhard as the punt returner, but didn't have much of a chance to make an effect on the game.

All around, it was a decent effort and worthy of a nod going into the next week.

Third Quarter Game Grade: A

The stories are all the same from the second to third quarter ends. The special teams unit remains the only unit that is constantly doing their job.

They've given Atlanta long fields to trek over, and done everything they can to give Manning and his offense good field position whenever they have the opportunity.

Second Quarter Game Grade: A

The special teams unit has yet to make an error. They've also failed to make much of an impact.

But considering they're the only unit that hasn't damaged Denver's effort, they must earn an A.

First Quarter Game Grade: A

The special teams unit for Denver has so far been the only unit to not commit errors early in this game.

Britton Colquitt's squad earned a fair catch deep in Atlanta's territory on their only opportunity, and the kick return team has had decent field position set up after their many returns.

Coaching

Fourth Quarter Game Grade: B

The play-calling all night seemed a bit out of place, but not as much in the fourth quarter.

It seemed that Peyton Manning may have finally been given the go-ahead to take full control of the offense in the final 15 minutes. Give credit to the coaching staff, John Fox and Mike McCoy for letting him try to take the game over.

Manning's heads-up play resulted in a touchdown to get Denver within six points of Atlanta and keep the game within reach late in the game.

Third Quarter Game Grade: C

Without any challenges to try to outdo the less-than-magnificent officiating tonight, Fox has had little work to do.

Albeit, he seems to have almost completely vanished on the sidelines. The play-calling has remained the same on both sides of the ball. And like the play on the field, the sense of urgency seems to have left the Broncos' staff as the game reaches its final stages and the Falcons remain in an almost secure lead.

Second Quarter Game Grade: A+

John Fox may be the last and only resounding reason that Denver has any points on the board.

Were it not for his sprint to the referees after a call on Denver's one and only scoring play to end the half, Denver may still be sporting a goose-egg on the scoreboard.

Fox has been tested constantly, and faced so many poor calls by the officiating crew.

He'll need some aspirin and a stress ball to survive the second half if this game continues in the same fashion.

First Quarter Game Grade: A

John Fox has made his impact early in this game, having the knowledge to challenge one of the only challenge-able penalty flags in the NFL.

Fox was able to challenge, and subsequently reverse a huge pass interference call wrongly thrown on a play involving a tipped ball past the line of scrimmage.

Running Backs

Overall Game Grade: B-

Willis McGahee ran 22 times for 113 yards and 2 TD's against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. It's safe to say his job as the starter is safe.

What's also safe to say is that Knowshon Moreno's upside is not worth what he gives on the field.

His fumble brought Denver up to four total turnovers in the first quarter alone. Obviously he was not the only problem for Denver, but he continues year after year to make a negative impact on the offense.

Overall this squad did their job, and they did it when it counted. McGahee provided the anchor necessary to hold this offense in place when it wavered so much early on. Without his effort and consistent play, the Broncos would have found themselves in a much worse position than they were.

Wide Receivers

Overall Game Grade: C+

The receivers on Denver's side contributed well throughout the second half. But their miscues early on, their lack of communication with Peyton, and their dropped passes earns them a C+ and a question mark for the day.

Demaryius Thomas proved yet again that he is not only a deep threat, but a force to contend with in the corners of the endzone. His size and strength make him a formidable opponent to any defense. But he started the game with a drop, and his fellow receivers followed suit.

Late in the game, when the team needed any sort of big play to swing the momentum in their favor, the receivers were not there to make it happen. Eric Decker dropped a long pass that soared directly between his hands after he was lucky enough to not get called for offensive pass interference.

Plays like that can't happen, and receivers need to come down with big catches when their quarterback needs a push in the right way.

Credit is due for earning points in Denver's favor, but the offense needed much more out of this corps on Monday night.

Offensive Line

Overall Game Grade: C+

Whether it was poor officiating, or legitimate calls, the offensive line gave a lot of free yards to Atlanta on Monday night.

Holding calls, even some that were seriously questioned during replays, were a common occurrence. False starts were rampant as well, regardless of the noise that comes with playing as the away team in the Georgia Dome.

If that wasn't enough, Peyton Manning found himself running for his life far more than his counterpart for Atlanta, as the line let more and more pressure through over the course of the evening.

Defensive Line

Overall Game Grade: D

If the Denver Broncos' game plan was to get pressure on Matt Ryan, the defensive line may be accused of missing the meeting.

Not until late in the fourth quarter could Ryan be seen being pressured, sacked, or otherwise.

Elvis Dumervil and Derek Wolfe are expected to keep quarterbacks on the move and, when possible, on the ground. This was not a factor on Monday night.

Ryan had more than enough time on almost every pass of the game to find his receivers, and like a good quarterback always does, he found them.

This line faces a quarterback next week that will do just as much against them, and will need a far better effort, and a much better push to be effective against Houston.

Linebackers

Overall Game Grade: B-

The Denver linebacker corps was about as present in the pass-rush as the defensive line, which doesn't say much for them. Little pressure occurred from the backers against Atlanta and Matt Ryan.

What they did do well was stop the run. Michael Turner is expected to run for big yardage against any defense, especially one that came into this season with some serious question marks.

The backers did their job well, especially near the end of the game when the offense needed the ball back to make any sort of game out of the affair.

Unfortunately, when it counted the most, with under two minutes left in the game, they failed to make the stop and Atlanta cruised on to run out the clock and seal the game in their favor.

Secondary

Overall Game Grade: C+

This unit is hard to grade. They faced a trio of terrific receivers, including a first ballot hall-of-famer in Tony Gonzalez.

They certainly showed some inability when covering the likes of Roddy White in the middle of the field, and Gonzalez in the endzone, but also managed to show some flair on the sidelines and deep in the Falcons' territory.

Tracy Porter almost came away with another pick-six when he tipped a ball and just barely failed to come away with the interception early in the fourth quarter.

But that was really the story of the night for most of Denver's impact positions. They were always so close, but never really in the right position.

This unit will need to do some serious tweaking during this week of practice to get themselves in better position to make the plays that matter in the weeks to come.