Arizona Cardinals vs. Denver Broncos: Full Report Card Grades for Denver
The Denver Broncos returned from their bye week with a very impressive 41-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, knocking them from the ranks of the unbeaten.
The Broncos got career days from both Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas and fed off the energy of their defense, which is getting better every game.
The Broncos ran 76 offensive plays to just 56 for Arizona and enjoyed a 10-minute advantage in time of possession.
After having quarterback Drew Stanton knocked out of the game with a concussion, Arizona watched their chance to pull off the upset slowly fade away.
The Broncos (3-1) will now travel to New York next Sunday to face the Jets (1-4), and they should be heavy favorites in that game.
Read on for complete grades and analysis from Sunday's game.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Though the Arizona Cardinals fought hard to hang in the game, Peyton Manning was simply too good.
Manning completed 31 of 47 passes for a career personal best 479 passing yards while also throwing for four touchdowns.
Manning dissected an Arizona defense that had not given up more than 17 points all season. The Broncos more than doubled that.
Manning was the key reason why, commanding an offense that totaled 568 yards on the day as well as a solid 7.5 yards per play.
The only knock on Manning was that he did throw two interceptions on the day, one of which he had to make a touchdown-saving tackle afterward.
On top of tossing career touchdown pass No. 500, Manning aided in Demaryius Thomas finally having a breakout game.
Manning recognized the fact that Thomas needed to get going and he looked his way often, targeting him 16 times.
Hopefully, the two created some momentum on Sunday which they can carry throughout the rest of the season.
Grade: A
Running Back
2 of 10
The Broncos found it tough to move the ball on the ground against Arizona and had just five yards rushing as a team at halftime.
But credit to the team for not giving up on it.
Denver ran the ball 28 times and gained 92 yards. While they were largely ineffective, they did have some success once their lead expanded.
Montee Ball ended up leaving the game with a groin injury, but Ronnie Hillman was able to come in and play well in relief. Hillman finished the game with 64 yards rushing, easily the most he has had this season.
"Right about now you wonder if the Broncos are regretting going all in on Montee Ball at the expense of Knowshon Moreno
— trey wingo (@wingoz) October 5, 2014"
Juwan Thompson saw his first action as a running back this season, gaining 15 yards on three attempts, including a late eight-yard touchdown run, the first of his career.
Grade: B-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Denver has some serious weapons in the passing game, but most of the football world already knew that. On Sunday, each one of them was on full display.
Peyton Manning threw career touchdown pass No. 500 to Julius Thomas, who would catch another touchdown later in the game.
Emmanuel Sanders made several big catches, reeling in seven passes for 101 yards. Wes Welker added seven receptions for 58 yards.
But the story of the day was Demaryius Thomas, who made it look easy while matched up against Arizona defensive back Antonio Cromartie.
Thomas collected eight receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a 77-yard touchdown called back by penalty. Thomas was waiting for this type of game all season, and it appears the bye week certainly benefited him.
The 226 yards receiving broke a franchise record set by Shannon Sharpe, who put up 214 yards against Kansas City in 2002.
All in all, you couldn't have had a better day from a receiving corps than what the Broncos unit produced on Sunday.
Grade: A+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Denver offensive line held their own on Sunday and allowed Peyton Manning to do what he does best. Manning doesn't need much time to find his target, and the line afforded him that, keeping his jersey clean in this one.
Manning was sacked once by Frostee Rucker, but he didn't deal with much pressure and was allowed to stand back and just pick the Cardinals apart.
This looked like the Denver offensive line that helped the Broncos reach the Super Bowl last year, but they were also supposed to be more physical this year.
They had a hard time moving the ball against the Cardinals on the ground, even with defensive lineman Darnell Dockett missing from the lineup.
The Broncos averaged a paltry 3.3 yards per carry, yet they were able to move the ball better once Calais Campbell left with a knee injury.
"Cardinals HC Bruce Arians called Julius Thomas' chop block on Denver South grad Calais Campbell "dirtiest play I've ever seen (in NFL).''
— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) October 6, 2014"
Still, the Broncos need to work on getting the running attack going. Manning isn't going to throw for 479 yards every game.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Broncos got a very good effort out of their front four on Sunday as they put pressure on the quarterback and completely shut down Arizona's rushing attack.
Granted, the Cardinals had to throw often to keep up, but the Broncos held them to a measly 1.9 yards per carry. They also contained the shifty Andre Ellington, holding him to just 32 yards on 16 carries.
DeMarcus Ware was able to get a sack to go along with another hit on the quarterback and two tackles for a loss.
Malik Jackson also had a good game, sharing a sack with Von Miller as well as getting two other hits on the quarterback. Terrance Knighton was a force in the middle as usual, and he picked up one tackle for a loss.
The Denver defensive line was able to control the line of scrimmage in this game, and they were a big reason the Cardinals managed only 20 points.
Grade: A
Linebacker
6 of 10
Fans have to be encouraged with what they see out of Von Miller. He looks like his former self at this point.
Miller had three tackles in the game, two of which went for a loss of yardage. But where Miller made an impact was the same place he always has—rushing the passer.
Miller was a menace in the Arizona backfield. He came up with 1.5 sacks on the day and was credited with four hits on the quarterback. On one sack, he went right around Arizona tackle Bobby Massie with ease.
"LB @Millerlite40 posted 1.5 sacks to increase career totals to 38.5 in 44 gms. That's the 2nd-best sacks per game avg (.875) in NFL history.
— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) October 6, 2014"
In his first game back from injury, Danny Trevathan led the team with seven tackles.
Rookie quarterback Logan Thomas was able to come into the game in relief of Drew Stanton and complete a pass to Andre Ellington against Trevathan that turned into an 81-yard touchdown. Trevathan had very good coverage on the play, and the Cardinals were just fortunate with the result.
Grade: B+
Secondary
7 of 10
Drew Stanton and the Cardinals appeared like they would be able to move the ball through the air against the Broncos early on, but that didn't last long.
The Broncos had six passes defensed in this game, four of which belonged to Chris Harris, who had a stellar day. Harris continues to be one of the most underrated defensive backs in the entire league.
T.J. Ward had two tackles for loss as well as two hits on the quarterback as he continues to play more of a hybrid linebacker position at times. His presence is invaluable on this defense.
"That’s how you cover the deep ball. Chris Harris is the best DB on this team. Gets paid a tenth what Talib makes.
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) October 5, 2014"
The Broncos allowed just six passes to be completed to wide receivers on the day. Coming into the game, the trio of Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown had a total of 30 receptions on the season.
But you can't say enough about the play of Harris, who should be considered among the elite cover corners in the NFL. No question about it.
Grade: A
Special Teams
8 of 10
Earlier in the week, the Broncos chose to part ways with longtime kicker Matt Prater. That decision will be questioned at length this coming week.
Brandon McManus, the kicker Denver chose to keep, made 2-of-3 field-goal attempts on the day, but he was far from impressive.
He badly missed from 53 yards out, and on a 40-yard attempt shortly thereafter, he clanked it in off the upright. It was only good because he got a lucky bounce. McManus' other field goal was from 44 yards out, which he put right down the middle.
Still, on the Broncos' final score, he barely snuck the extra point through the uprights. McManus should be considered shaky at best at this point.
In the punting game, Britton Colquitt was solid as always. He dropped two of his four punts inside the Arizona 20-yard line and had a long punt of 60 yards. He averaged 49.8 yards per punt on the day.
Isaiah Burse returned six punts for 38 yards, but when watching him, he seems like he is very close to breaking one for a long return. He is a player to watch as the season progresses.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
The Broncos had a good offensive plan coming into this game. Despite facing a strong defense, they chose to attack them with their superior set of weapons.
Still, with a 24-13 lead, the play-calling was a little too conservative, and after an 81-yard touchdown pass from Logan Thomas to Andre Ellington brought the Cardinals to within four points, the Broncos had to get aggressive again.
It really seems like Denver is afraid to blow teams out sometimes. If it means you have to put up over 50 points per game, do it. The Broncos allow teams to hang around too long and that has long been a problem.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jack Del Rio called a very good game. There were few mistakes made by the defense. He called more blitzes in this game, though he probably could have called even more, especially after the rookie Logan Thomas entered the game.
Early on, Arizona found some success on third down but finished the game converting just three of 16 third downs attempts. Del Rio should be very happy about the performance of his defense.
Grade: B+
Overall Grade
10 of 10
Quarterback: A
Running Back: B-
Wide Receiver/Tight End: A+
Offensive Line: B-
Defensive Line: A
Linebacker: B+
Secondary: A
Special Teams: C
Coaching: B+
Overall Grade: B+
The Broncos played a very complete football game on Sunday against a tough opponent. However, it wasn't perfect despite a 21-point victory.
The Broncos have some questions at the kicker position, and until Brandon McManus proves he can make tough field goals regularly, fans should be concerned. Matt Prater certainly proved that he could.
As the year goes on, the Broncos will have one of the league's best offenses, which should be expected. But it appears this team will go as far as their defense takes them.
With players like Chris Harris, Von Miller, T.J. Ward and DeMarcus Ware, there is plenty to be happy about as the defense should only get better the more they play together.
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