Broncos: Grading the secondary from win over Panthers

Every other group has already received their grades for the Denver Broncos. Only the secondary is left, and they are up now.

The secondary for the Denver Broncos played well, with all things considered. They had to deal with some mismatch problems in coverage, and they showed. However, they turned their play around and became a big reason for the win.

Despite the mismatches, they lived up to their “No Fly Zone” nickname, allowing under 200 yards through the air with one touchdown and one interception. That all came with an awful 54.5% completion rating. Of course, the Panthers receivers dropped some balls to help out the Broncos secondary.

Chris Harris played 69 snaps on defense, which was the most of all defenders and accounted for 94.5% of the defensive snaps. Harris was great all game, but got stuck in a mismatch and allowed a touchdown. Someone around 5’10” guarding a 6’5″ receiver isn’t going to have an easy time. He simply got out sized for the score.

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That was the only catch that Harris allowed, which was only his third touchdown allowed since the start of the 2014 season. Kelvin Benjamin joins Antonio Brown as the only receivers to beat Harris for a touchdown. It wasn’t even bad coverage by Harris on the touchdown. He had his hand in the way, just a better catch.

Not only did Harris play great in coverage, he was excellent coming up and helping defend against the run. In no way was Harris flawless, there were other mistakes made in coverage, but the offensive couldn’t capitalize on them. With a grade pf 94.0, Harris can sleep happy despite a really bad call against him towards the end of the game.

Harris often found himself on the field with Bradley Roby and Aqib Talib. Both of them played good games, but not as good as Harris. Talib was largely quiet, which is a good thing for a corner, especially Talib. He didn’t get hit with any bad, dumb penalties, which is something Talib has become known for.

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As for Roby, his coverage was hit or miss, but he was always quick to make the tackle if he allowed a catch. Not only that, Roby keeps up the tradition of good run defending corners for the Broncos. Roby ended with a grade of 82.1, while Talib earned a 88.8.

As for the safeties, Denver’s starting two safeties, T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart played really good games from start to finish. Even in the first half, when the rest of the defense was struggling, those two were a bright spot. They provided strong coverage and great run defense.

Stewart laid out some big hits, which he showed in his first year in Denver, that he isn’t afraid to do so. One play in particular stood out. Stewart read the play, was quick to react, met Mike Tolbert in the hole where Stewart put on a big hit putting the 240+ pound back on his butt.

Both of them graded higher than the Broncos third safety. Ward ended with a 90.4 grade and Stewart a 94.7. As for Justin Simmons, that #3 safety, he showed he is still a rookie. There were some really great plays, but many young mistakes and earned a 73.8 grade.

Next: Broncos Defensive Line Grades

That wraps up the player grades for this week. Stay tuned for after the next game, when the Broncos take on the Indianapolis Colts for the next set of player grades.