Broncos vs. Seahawks: Full Report-Card Grades for Denver
The Denver Broncos gave the Seattle Seahawks a much bigger fight than they did in Super Bowl XLVIII, but in the end, it still wasn't enough.
It ended up being perhaps the best game thus far in the 2014 NFL season.
Seattle needed overtime to beat the Broncos, winning the game 26-20 on a late touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch.
The Broncos needed some late-game magic from Peyton Manning, who led an 80-yard drive with no timeouts and only 59 seconds left on the clock to send the game into the extra session.
But after Seattle won the coin toss, he never saw the field again.
""It's disappointing -- it's a disappointing loss -- but it is a Week 3 loss. We have a bye ... We have a chance to get better." - Manning
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 22, 2014"
The Broncos fall to 2-1 on the year and head into their bye week next week. It's a great time for one, after coming off the trip to Seattle where they played a very physical, emotionally draining game.
Read on for more analysis and report-card grades from this game.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Despite going on the road to face one of the league's top defenses, Peyton Manning held his own on Sunday.
Manning threw 49 passes against the Seahawks, completing 31 of them. He went over the 300-yard mark and threw two touchdowns.
But it wasn't a perfect performance.
With the Broncos trailing 17-12 and driving, Manning tried to lob a pass to Wes Welker, only to have Kam Chancellor jump up and snatch it out of the air. As Chancellor returned it 52 yards, it seemed Denver's hopes were gone.
But the Broncos held Seattle to a field goal and kept it a one-score game. The Broncos still had a chance, but it was an improbable one.
The Broncos had to go 80 yards in 59 seconds. They had no timeouts at their disposal.
Showing why he is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, Manning completed just three passes on the drive, but he made them count. He found Jacob Tamme wide open in the end zone for a 26-yard score to bring the Broncos to within two points.
Needing the two-point conversion to tie things up, Manning found Demaryius Thomas in the back of the end zone to silence the crowd in Seattle.
It would have been nice to see Manning attack the Seahawks secondary this way in the early part of the game. He had success throwing the ball, and the Broncos never should have shown any intimidation of the team they were facing, and at times it seemed they did.
However, without Manning, Denver would have had little chance to win this game.
Grade: B+
Running Back
2 of 10
The running game was next to useless on Sunday, but the Broncos abandoned it for the most part pretty early on.
On their first offensive play, Montee Ball took a handoff and ran for close to a first down. The only problem was he had the ball poked out. Seattle recovered and turned the turnover into a quick 3-0 lead.
Ball finished the day with only 38 yards on 14 carries, and he was largely ineffective.
Denver decided to get Ronnie Hillman into the game in the second half for the first time this year, but he and Manning didn't seem like they were on the same page on a couple of pass attempts.
Hillman was given just two carries and ran for just two yards.
As a team, the Broncos ran for just 36 yards on Sunday, averaging a paltry 1.8 yards per carry. This was highly disappointing.
It was disappointing because Denver reshuffled their offensive line to create a more physical rushing attack. It was disappointing because it forced Denver to be too one-dimensional. This made things much easier for the Seattle defense.
In addition, the Denver running backs accounted for just four passes for 14 yards.
Grade: C-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Emmanuel Sanders has been quite the free-agent acquisition for Denver. On Sunday, he caught 11 passes for 149 yards, including a critical 42-yard reception on the game-tying drive.
Wes Welker returned to the lineup on Sunday and was effective in the short-yardage passing game. Welker finished the game with six catches for 60 yards.
Demaryius and Julius Thomas, on the other hand, didn't play great games.
Julius did catch a short touchdown in the fourth quarter, but Seattle kept him from being the offensive force that he had been in the first two games of the season.
Demaryius finished the game with four catches for 31 yards, but he seemed to have a hard time getting open. On the first ball Manning threw his way, Thomas appeared to fumble the ball. Replays showed it was an incomplete pass.
Thomas did make a great play on the two-point conversion to tie the game, but the Broncos will need more from him going forward.
Jacob Tamme stepped up after Virgil Green had to leave the game, catching the game-tying touchdown from 26 yards out. Tamme is a great weapon for the Broncos to bring off the bench, and they should consider looking his way more often as the season goes on.
Grade: B-
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line
4 of 10
Coming into Sunday's game, an improvement from the offensive line was the biggest thing Denver needed. In the Super Bowl, it was a glaring mismatch.
On Sunday, it wasn't much different.
The line didn't open holes in the running game, but they did protect Peyton Manning better than they did in the Super Bowl. Manning still faced a lot of pressure on Sunday, but he was able to make the throws.
Still, the Seahawks got eight hits on the quarterback, and they made five tackles for a loss of yardage.
The Seahawks defensive line appeared to overpower the offensive line. Perhaps not to the extent that they did in the Super Bowl, but they won the battle in the trenches again.
It's very hard to go on the road in the NFL and win games when you don't even average two yards per carry.
Grade: C-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
DeMarcus Ware showed Denver fans why the Broncos were so happy to get him this offseason.
Ware worked hard to get to Russell Wilson on Sunday, and he finally did so on one occasion when he forced a fumble while sacking the Seahawks' signal-caller. Wilson was fortunate to get the ball back at his own 1-yard line, but on the next play, Ware's pursuit of Marshawn Lynch forced a safety for the Broncos.
The Broncos had a tough time corralling Lynch during the rest of the game. The bruising Seattle running back ran for 88 yards but had several big gains after the Seahawks opened some big holes.
On the game-winning touchdown run, Lynch had a huge hole open in front of him on his way to the end zone.
While Ware has been very good in the first three games, the Broncos need to see some pressure come from the other side of the defensive line. Either Malik Jackson or Derek Wolfe need to be able to get more pressure on the quarterback.
Terrance Knighton and Marvin Austin each collected two tackles in the game, but the defensive line as a whole was unable to do anything on Seattle's overtime possession.
The Seahawks averaged 6.2 yards per play on the drive, and Lynch ran for 19 yards including the touchdown run that sealed the victory.
Grade: C
Linebackers
6 of 10
The Denver linebackers continue to get better with each game. Nate Irving's play has been especially encouraging.
Irving led the team with 13 tackles on Sunday. After Montee Ball fumbled the ball on Denver's first offensive snap, Irving made a very nice stop on third down to stop Marshawn Lynch and force a field goal.
Irving also added one quarterback hit and one tackle for a loss in the game. Irving was also in on the tackle of Lynch that led to a safety for the Broncos.
Brandon Marshall added 12 tackles as he continues to fill in nicely for the injured Danny Trevathan.
Von Miller looked very good on Sunday, and it appears that he is back to 100 percent. Miller pressured Russell Wilson on several plays and ended up getting one sack. He added seven tackles and another hit on the quarterback.
"Von Miller forces punt with his 37th career sack, marking the 3rd most sacks in the NFL since his rookie year in 2011.
— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) September 21, 2014"
When Miller plays at that level, the Broncos defense can be very good.
Lamin Barrow and Steven Johnson each chipped in with three tackles apiece, but the young rookie Corey Nelson was called for a critical holding penalty on the drive in overtime.
The fact that there was no linebacker in to spy Wilson on the final drive was frustrating to see as well. After keeping Wilson bottled up for much of the day, the defense allowed him to do too much with his feet in the end.
Grade: B-
Secondary
7 of 10
Much like DeMarcus Ware, the Broncos are seeing immediate dividends from both Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward.
Talib had a likely interception early in the game, but Seattle wide receiver Ricardo Lockette committed a blatant offensive pass-interference penalty to break it up. On the play, Talib studied Russell Wilson well and was ready for the throw to come his way.
Later, Talib deflected a pass that ended up being intercepted by Chris Harris. This set up a touchdown for Denver to bring the score within five at 17-12.
But on the same possession, Wilson threw a deep ball to Lockette for a 39-yard score to put the Seahawks up 10-3. Lockette beat Talib on the play, but Talib wasn't in bad position, it was just a perfect throw.
T.J. Ward played a great game on Sunday. In addition to collecting a sack of Wilson, Ward had eight tackles. The physicality he adds to the defense is very evident as he plays all over the field. He assisted Nate Irving on tackling Marshawn Lynch in the end zone for a safety.
Harris also had a strong game, though he did struggle at staying with Percy Harvin on a few plays. Then again, who doesn't?
The back end of the Denver defense played very well in this game and allowed the Broncos to have a chance in the end.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
8 of 10
Denver punter Britton Colquitt got much more work on Sunday than he is used to. Colquitt punted eight times, and he averaged 47.3 yards per kick. He did a solid job placing the ball as well, dropping three punts inside the 20-yard line.
Denver's kick coverage was good as well, allowing just 36 yards on the five punts which Seattle returned. The longest return they gave up was just 11 yards.
Remembering what happened in the Super Bowl, Denver did its best to keep the ball out of Percy Harvin's hands. Harvin had just one kick return on the day, bringing it back for 13 yards.
In the return game, Isaiah Burse still seems a little shaky as a punt returner. He did gain 15 yards on one return, but he failed to call for a fair catch on another, being drilled immediately. Luckily for him, he held on to the ball.
Brandon McManus kicked a 24-yard field goal to open the scoring for Denver, but he has yet to make a difficult kick this season. He may not get a chance to, either, as Matt Prater will be back in Week 6 when Denver faces the New York Jets.
Grade: B+
Coaching
9 of 10
Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio had his team well prepared for this game.
Denver was more aggressive on defense. They were able to record three sacks in the game. In the Super Bowl, the Broncos didn't have a single sack.
On third downs, the Broncos allowed the Seahawks to convert just seven out of 17 attempts. But the final drive in overtime was very disheartening.
Despite not allowing Russell Wilson to make many plays with his feet, the defense watched as he made multiple plays in overtime. They allowed him to convert two third downs by running it himself in overtime.
Why wasn't a linebacker kept in to spy on Wilson? Where was the pass rush?
On offense, it seems the Broncos played an extremely conservative first half. Was Peyton Manning actually shying away from Richard Sherman?
The Broncos went to the locker room with only three points, and they hadn't really taken a single shot down the field.
It seemed that the Broncos wanted to take an approach that was too careful as they went into Seattle to face the defending champions. This is becoming a recurring theme in Denver.
You can't play to not lose when you are a Super Bowl contender. That is something this coaching staff seriously needs to overcome.
You have Manning and a slew of offensive weapons. It's time to attack teams for an entire 60-minute game with them.
Grade: D
Overall Grade
10 of 10
Quarterback: B+
Running Back: C-
Wide Receiver: B-
Offensive Line: C-
Defensive Line: C-
Linebacker: B-
Secondary: B+
Special Teams: B+
Coaching: D
Overall Grade: C
The Broncos had their chances in Seattle, and though they lost the game, there's still plenty to be encouraged about.
This wasn't even close to the 35-point drubbing they suffered back in February. They went into a hostile environment and nearly won the game. They now know they can play with this team.
Sunday's game was played at a championship level by both squads. If the coaching staff can install a little bit more aggression, the Broncos can win games like this.
There is room for improvement, but no reason to hang their heads too low.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
