Broncos Individual Player Grades For Week 7 vs. Chiefs Revealed
There isn’t much to say about the Denver Broncos' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that isn’t going to be said elsewhere or hasn’t been uttered already.
It was an embarrassing loss with the team appearing to have no heart or fire, playing for nothing while the other team was playing with all of those things in spades. The Broncos'p players were outplayed and coaches were out-coached.
Typically, I cover 12 players in the grades I reveal, sometimes 13, with four good, four bad and four miscellaneous others of note. This week, there was so much bad out there from the players that I am going to focus only on the good.
The Broncos lost as a team, failed as a team, and looked atrocious as a team, but there were a few bright spots. Unfortunately, when I say a few, I mean a few.
I'm only going to reveal the grades for six players this week and they are the only six that ended with a grade above 60.
This grading system has been honed and adapted for the last five-plus years. Each player starts with a grade of 50, and it will either get raised or lowered based on each snap and the player's impact on the play.
A cornerback on the backside of a run shedding a block will get a slight raise to their grade, but a corner shedding a block in the run path at the point of attack will get a higher raise in their grade, as they have a bigger impact on the result of the play.
Courtland Sutton, WR: 91.5
The only offensive player on the list, and the only offensive player with a grade above 40, Sutton showed up and in a big way. It was a great game, but it is a shame his performance will be forgotten because of the overall team results.
Justin Simmons, S: 83.8
The safety of the Broncos was flying all around the field and came up to make some big stops against the run. He got close to a couple of turnovers, but wasn’t able to come away with one. It was a rough start to the season, but Simmons has quickly turned it around. Denver needs to lock him up before he becomes more expensive, or decides he wants out — if he hasn’t already.
Malik Reed, OLB: 80.7
Many felt the season was lost when Bradley Chubb got hurt, but Reed has done a solid job filling in. He is getting better against the run, and did a solid job getting some pressure vs. the Chiefs. There were many rookie moments, but it a good game overall.
Alexander Johnson, LB: 79.4
He flies around the field against the run and makes play after play, but there were a couple of poor reads against the run against the Chiefs. There are also issues with him in coverage that continue to pop up, and he has to fix them quickly. Denver may have gotten lucky uncovering the gem that is Johnson, if he can keep building on his game.
Kareem Jackson, S: 76.0
While he did give up a couple catches, Jackson was tough out there and played a key part in the defense making some key stops. There were a couple plays that if Jackson didn’t make, the score would have probably been 70-6. However, he also missed a tackle that led to a touchdown.
Derek Wolfe, DE: 73.1
Wolfe reemerged against the Titans, but that O-line was so bad that Denver needed to see more. He did a good job shutting down running lanes vs. the Chiefs and got a decent push at times.
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