Broncos Individual Player Grades For Week 15 vs. Chiefs Revealed

How did the individual players grade out in Drew Lock's second road test against a playoff-caliber opponent?

It was a snowy game at Arrowhead Stadium where the Denver Broncos have just three wins in December in franchise history. The Broncos ended up putting together a very bad performance, and there isn’t much positive to take away from their 23-3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. 

There were some individuals who performed well, but that doesn’t mean much when the rest of their unit failed. How did players grade out? As always, there are four positively-graded players, four negative and four others worth talking about. 

This grading system has been honed and adapted for the last five-plus years. Each player starts with a grade of 50, and the grade 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 who sheds a block will get a slight raise to their grade, but a corner shedding a block in the run path to make the stop at the point of attack will get a higher mark in their grade, as they had a bigger impact on the result of the play.

As always, the Broncos' MVP of Week 15 — or highest-graded player — is revealed in the video above, along with the analysis on what he did to earn it. However, this wasn’t a good game from the Broncos, and the grades reflect that. 

The Good

Von Miller, OLB: 78.9

There was good pressure from Miller throughout the game, though he lacked consistency with it. He also played a huge part in some big plays for the defense, including a couple of sacks. Miller also stepped up and played very well as a run defender against the Chiefs.

Justin Simmons, S: 75.3

Simmons played a very good game against the Chiefs, but it wasn’t his normal level of greatness. There were times his footing seemed to get him in trouble, likely because of the wet and snowy surface. 

Noah Fant, TE: 74.1

The rookie tight end had a really solid game again, though he did get banged up early. He only had two catches, but one of them was a big fourth-down play that Denver failed to capitalize on. What really helped Fant’s grade was what he did show as a blocker during. It was his best game as a blocker this season. 

Tim Patrick, WR: 67.2

Patrick fought hard in the game and made some plays for the Broncos. He did have a bad drop, and a couple of routes that seemed lazy, though it is safe to say he was being cautious with his routes. Normally a 67.2 won’t get you into the positives, but it was a bad enough game from everyone else that landed Patrick here. 

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The Bad

Todd Davis, LB: 18.4

Davis is a very limited athlete that can work in very limited coverages. This is a problem that teams have discovered how to exploit in recent weeks and the Chiefs really took advantage of that. Being in the snow didn’t help Davis. While he is a solid linebacker, his limitations being exploited as they have shows the Broncos need to upgrade. 

Will Parks, S: 21.6

It has been a terrible season from Parks and it continued with his game against the Chiefs. His coverage is poor, and he often found himself out of position. In the final year of his contract, it doesn’t look good for him getting a second contract. 

Elijah Wilkinson, RT: 20.5

I'm beating a dead horse here, but Wilkinson isn’t a tackle. The young lineman is a guard forced to play tackle because Ja’Waun James’ injury. What highlights this is Wilkinson's slow kick-slide, which the Chiefs exploited multiple times to get pressure on the QB.

Drew Lock, QB: 26.7

The young quarterback didn’t have a good game, but this loss is not all on him. The weather was bad and really hurt what he was able to do. What lands Lock here is a bad interception where he threw deep across his body in the red zone, along with a few other throws that were nearly big plays by the Chiefs defense. He is a rookie quarterback, so some struggles are to be expected. 

Other Grades of Note

Chris Harris, Jr., CB: 33.9

Make no mistake, this is a bad grade from Harris. What kept him from being a member of the negative grades where a few catches he allowed where he was quick to come up and make the tackle. The weather was not favorable for corners, but Harris has been struggling all season long. 

Isaac Yiadom, CB: 39.3

It was a rough game from Yiadom, and he continues to give up catches despite being in good position. Yiadom fails to locate the ball in the air, and until he can do that, he will continue to struggle. 

Connor McGovern, C: 41.8/Dalton Risner, LG: 40.0

Both of these interior offensive linemen get paired together. They often found themselves facing off against Chris Jones, and he controlled the trenches. Both interior offensive linemen really struggled to handle the power and athleticism that Jones brings to the table. Their play was better when they weren’t taking on Jones, but there were still struggles throughout the game. 

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