Colts vs. Broncos: Full Report-Card Grades for Denver
The first half of Sunday night's game between the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts belonged to the Broncos, as they jumped out to a 24-0 lead.
But things changed drastically in the second half, as they watched Andrew Luck lead a furious charge back to draw the Colts within reach at 31-24.
The Broncos were able to hold on for a wild victory to kick off the season, avenging their Sunday night loss to the Colts from last season.
The Broncos won their season opener for the third straight year with Peyton Manning at quarterback, defeating the Colts for the first time since 2005.
T.J. Ward, Aqib Talib, DeMarcus Ware and Emmanuel Sanders all made their first official appearance for the Broncos, while Von Miller and Chris Harris returned from injury.
Denver now has to get ready for division rival Kansas City, who comes in to face the Broncos next Sunday.
But first, let's dive into this one and hand out grades for each positional unit for the Broncos.
Quarterback
1 of 10
It was a tale of two halves on Sunday for Peyton Manning, as it was for the entire Broncos team.
Manning looked very sharp in the first half, tossing three touchdowns in the second quarter. All three of those went to Julius Thomas, with whom he has established a very strong rapport.
Manning was also able to connect with new receiver Emmanuel Sanders for some big plays.
But in the second half, he didn't find nearly as much success. He completed just six passes for 70 yards in the second half, after throwing for 199 yards in the first half.
He also missed receivers badly late in the game as the Broncos were trying to run out the remainder of the clock. These errant throws allowed the Colts to stay in the game right up until the end.
"#Broncos Peyton Manning called himself old now that he's beat all 32 teams in the NFL. Having a little fun in his presser. #Chiefs are next.
— Raul Martinez (@RaulSports) September 8, 2014"
Still, Manning should be happy with his overall performance, and he now joins Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to defeat all 32 NFL teams.
Final Grade: B+
Running Back
2 of 10
The Broncos created a solid balance on offense Sunday night, calling 32 run plays and 36 pass plays. As a team, they ran for 102 yards.
Montee Ball gained 67 yards on the ground, including a three-yard touchdown run in which he broke several tackles before diving into the end zone. Ball also had two receptions for 16 yards.
Ronnie Hillman was a surprise on the inactive list on Sunday, and it was initially reported that he was battling an illness.
"Ronnie Hillman inactive for Broncos after battling an illness last week.
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) September 7, 2014"
That made C.J. Anderson the No. 2 back for the game, and he made the most of his four carries, gaining 27 yards.
The running backs did a good job of stepping in to help keep Peyton Manning protected, something many felt they lost when Knowshon Moreno was allowed to leave via free agency.
It will be interesting to see how Hillman fits into the team's plans going forward, but the team seems to be in good hands with Ball in the backfield.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Peyton Manning usually spreads the wealth around evenly when tossing touchdowns, but it was Julius Thomas who caught all three of his on Sunday night.
Thomas has entered the class of Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski as far as tight ends that present a severe matchup problem for opposing defenses.
During his postgame interview with NBC's Michelle Tafoya, Manning suggested that Thomas had a great offseason and is even better than he was last year. That could be a scary proposition for Denver opponents.
".@Broncos TE @Julius_Thomas is a BIG fan of Week 1... 2013 & 2014 combined: 12 catches. 214 yards. 5 TDs. pic.twitter.com/OeqmP2LDrO
— NFL (@nfl) September 8, 2014"
The only blemish on the night for Thomas was not being able to handle an onside kick that came right to him and ended up being recovered by Indianapolis.
Emmanuel Sanders had a solid debut for the Broncos, catching six passes for 77 yards. That included a nice 40-yard pass from Manning for which Sanders laid out to make the catch. Sanders showed that he can be the deep threat that the Broncos were missing last year, and he'll be another weapon defenses must account for.
Demaryius Thomas, Denver's No. 1 wide receiver, was kept relatively quiet on Sunday night. Last year when Denver faced the Colts, he struggled to get open when being covered by Colts cornerback Vontae Davis. Despite being targeted 11 times in this game, Thomas caught just four passes for 48 yards.
Andre Caldwell started the game in the spot normally occupied by Wes Welker and caught two passes for 16 yards. The best play he made was falling on a fumble by Julius Thomas in the third quarter, after Thomas made a catch-and-run for a first down.
Second-round pick Cody Latimer was not used in the game, but the Broncos will get him on the field at some point this year.
Final Grade: A-
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line
4 of 10
It was very nice to see Ryan Clady back on the field for the Broncos, and the entire offensive line looks like it can be very good.
With Robert Mathis sitting the game out due to a league-mandated suspension, the Broncos didn't face the kind of pass rush that propelled the Colts to a win between these two teams last season.
Peyton Manning was sacked just one time, but the unit will need to work on its run blocking.
Transitioning Orlando Franklin to guard was supposed to make the line more physical, able to push people around. The Broncos averaged just 3.2 yards per carry on Sunday night, and there wasn't much for Montee Ball to run behind on most of his carries.
Getting more of a push needs to be a focal point when the team faces the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. If the running game can net closer to 4.5 yards per carry, it will make Manning even more effective in the play-action passing game.
Final Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Colts found no room to run in attacking the middle of the Denver defense where guys like Terrance Knighton and Sylvester Williams were lurking.
They also got consistent pressure on Andrew Luck early in the game, often collapsing the pocket. DeMarcus Ware had 1.5 sacks in his first game with the Broncos, combining with Malik Jackson to get a sack on one play.
But as the Colts mounted their comeback, Luck easily evaded the pass rush and moved the ball down the field. It seemed like one big sack would wrap things up for the Broncos, but they couldn't make it happen.
In the fourth quarter, Luck was standing in his own end zone, and Ware got an excellent jump and was within an arm's reach of Luck, only to be driven into the turf by Anthony Castonzo. A holding penalty could have easily been called.
The Broncos have to be impressed with Ware, but it would have been nice to see someone along the defense make a play to ice the game earlier, rather than allowing the comeback that they did.
Final Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
Linebacker is arguably the Broncos' weakest position. On Sunday, the group played as well as anyone.
Nate Irving had a great game in the middle of the Denver defense, and after years of waiting for him to have a game like this, fans had to be happy that he did.
Despite leaving in the third quarter with a leg injury, Irving returned soon after. On the night, he had five tackles, one sack and another hit on the quarterback.
It was probably his best game in Denver, which is extremely encouraging.
In the offseason, losing Danny Trevathan was one of the only negative things to happen to Denver. His replacement, Brandon Marshall, has stepped in and played extremely well.
On Sunday, Marshall led the team with 10 tackles. He also had a pass defensed.
The Broncos are also clearly working Von Miller slowly back into the lineup as he returns from a season-ending injury last season.
Miller gave way to Lerentee McCray often in the second half and finished with just one tackle on the night. It's smart to ease Miller back into action, but it would be nice to see more from him when he's on the field. Hopefully that comes with time.
Final Grade: A-
Secondary
7 of 10
The secondary was the area John Elway seemed to put the most emphasis on during the offseason, wanting to do what he could to avoid another loss like they suffered against Seattle in the Super Bowl.
T.J. Ward and Aqib Talib made their debuts on Sunday night, and although Andrew Luck was able to throw for 370 yards, they made the plays they had to make.
Rahim Moore played one of his best games in the NFL, intercepting Luck twice. After the scary compartment syndrome injury that ended his 2013 season, combined with the play that he made in the playoffs the year before against Baltimore by allowing Jacoby Jones to get behind him for a tying touchdown, the game he played Sunday had to feel great.
Equally refreshing was seeing safety Quinton Carter back on the field. Carter, who has missed nearly all of the last two seasons, had seven tackles on the night. Despite all of the missed action, he didn't show any signs of being rusty.
Another bright spot was rookie cornerback Bradley Roby, who tied for second on the team with seven tackles. Roby also came up with a big play on fourth down during the Colts' final drive, knocking the ball away from Reggie Wayne to halt the Colts' final chance.
Talib had three passes defensed, and Chris Harris, also returning from a season-ending injury, knocked down two balls.
Tony Carter needs to tighten up his coverage. Andrew Luck zoned in on him when he was on the field, completing several passes against him.
Final Grade: B+
Special Teams
8 of 10
Despite missing two field goals in Denver's final preseason game, Brandon McManus shook that off and brought his strong leg Sunday night.
Not only did he pound every kickoff out of the end zone, McManus scored seven points by kicking a 21-yard field goal and knocking through four extra points.
The team seems confident in McManus, since a guy like Jay Feely is currently a free agent. But until he makes a game-winning field goal or blasts one from over 50 yards, it's hard to say whether he's a sufficient replacement for Matt Prater.
In the punting department, Britton Colquitt averaged 46.8 yards on his five punts. He also tried to flop in the end zone late in the game as he punted from his own end zone in order to earn a penalty, but the referee refused to throw a flag.
Neither team did much in the way of kickoff or punt returns in this game, but Isaiah Burse left a lot to be desired.
The Broncos are trusting the rookie to return punts, but he seems a little shaky. In one instance, he clearly should have called a fair catch but fielded the ball and was immediately popped by a member of the Colts. The ball came free, but fortunately for Burse, Bradley Roby was there to pick it up.
Final Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
Offensive coordinator Adam Gase called a perfect first half, finding ways to get Julius Thomas open, where the Colts simply couldn't handle him.
The no-huddle offense had the Colts reeling, but the team wasn't able to maintain that in the second half.
Going forward, the Broncos need to mix in some different run schemes in order to allow Montee Ball and the running game to get more than three yards per carry.
Another idea is to use the speedy Emmanuel Sanders for gadget plays similar to what Seattle does with Percy Harvin or what Minnesota is doing with Cordarrelle Patterson. That would give the Denver offense an element that would make them even tougher to game-plan for.
Defensively, Jack Del Rio called a good game, but the team had to hold on in the end against a quarterback that did whatever he could to avoid the loss.
Having Von Miller at 100 percent and able to stay on the field at all times will make the defense a lot better and give Del Rio more options.
The one thing you had to dislike as a Denver fan was the way they played down the stretch. In typical John Fox fashion, the team seemed to be playing not to lose, rather than to win.
It was very similar to the game they lost to Baltimore in the divisional playoffs following the 2012 season.
Faced with adversity in the future, the Broncos need to stay on the attack and play like they have the best quarterback in the NFL and one of the best offenses of all time.
This is a Colts team that Denver could very likely see again, and they'll remember how Denver took their foot off the throttle.
Final Grade: B-
Overall Grade
10 of 10
Quarterback: B+
Running Back: B
Wide Receiver/Tight End: A-
Offensive Line: B-
Defensive Line: B
Linebackers: A-
Secondary: B+
Special Teams: B-
Coaching: B+
Overall Grade: B+
Denver got off to an excellent start, and it looked like they could do no wrong. But they allowed the Colts to make a comeback and nearly gave it up in the end.
It was a solid team effort for the Broncos, and their grades reflect that, but they have areas to work on going forward.
Peyton Manning was sharp and seems to have built a strong rapport with Emmanuel Sanders along with improving his connection to Julius Thomas.
The offense is going to get their points and their yards, but the goals remain the same if this team is going to win the Super Bowl this year.
They must be more physical on both sides of the ball, and they must develop a more effective running game. Currently, Manning relies on strong protection, a quick release and great accuracy to beat teams. But if teams have to worry about the threat of a strong running game, he can be nearly unstoppable.
Defensively, the team will be in great shape once their entire lineup is healthy and in the swing of things. DeMarcus Ware appears like he is still one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL, and when Denver opens up big leads, he'll rack up a high number of sacks.
The Broncos have to be happy with their 1-0 start, but they can't be thrilled with the way the Colts nearly came all the way back.
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