Broncos Secondary Grades from Road Win over Cincinnati
The Denver Broncos secondary played lights out for the third game of this season. Their play is a big reason they are 3-0. With how great they played, expect some great grades to be handed out.
It isn’t easy for defenses to keep quarterbacks around 200 yards passing in a game, let alone when taking on Andrew Luck, Cam Newton or even Andy Dalton. Yet the Denver Broncos defense did just that. Not once. Not twice. But three times against those three quarterbacks.
They allowed only 194 to Newton, 197 to Luck and 206 to Dalton. That is really impressive numbers, especially when they average 307.5 yards (Newton), 358 yards (Luck), and 366 yards (Dalton) between their other two games. Not only that they threw for a combined 11 touchdowns in their six other games, while a combined two against Denver.
The big reason the Denver Broncos defense has been able to stifle their opponents passing games is their extraordinary secondary. It is a group that has talent sitting on the bench because of how talented their starters are. Each on of the starters can have a case made for them being top 5-10 in the NFL at their position, at least.
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Chris Harris leads the pack. His coverage was phenomenal and forced Andy Dalton away from him. Harris wasn’t targeted once in coverage. His run defense was also stellar. Harris earned a perfect 100.0 grade for the game.
Opposite of Harris was Aqib Talib, who rounds out one of the best corner duo’s in the NFL. Talib isn’t quite as good as Harris, but he is a play-maker in his own right. He was tasked with covering A.J. Green, and held him to 77 yards receiving. Talib earned a 89.9 grade.
The Denver Broncos don’t just have one of the best duo’s at corner in the NFL. They have one of the best three-man corner units in the NFL. In fact, it is hard to find any better than the Broncos. Harris and Talib are exceptional and Bradley Roby is still young and growing.
Roby is stuck behind the two elites of Harris and Talib, but he could easily be a starter on any other team in the NFL. Roby is consistent in coverage and a willing run defender. Not only that, he has a knack for creating plays for the Broncos defense.
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If he can keep up his play, Roby gives the Broncos plenty of options after this season is over. Each game you can see Roby grow more and more as a player. He makes his mistakes, but he learns from them and makes the changes he needs to for the next game. Roby earned a 92.7 grade.
As for the safeties, T.J. Ward got hurt and missed some time throughout the game. When he was on the field, his play was really strong, especially against the run. Despite the injury, Ward still played 95.5% of the defensive snaps on his way to a 95.7 grade.
When he got hurt, Will Parks stepped in and played great, especially for a rookie. Parks saw 25 snaps against the Bengals, while he saw only five in his first two games combined. In his time on the field filling in for the injured Ward and Justin Simmons, Parks got his first interception of his career and earned a 93.6 grade in his first every graded game.
The final safety was Darian Stewart who played every snap on defense. Stewart was great in coverage and a force against the run. More and more Stewart is looking like an elite defender who is going to cash in after the season is over. His grade for his game against the Bengals is a great 98.9.
Next: Broncos Linebacker Grades From Road Win
That wraps up the grades for the Denver Broncos victory on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals. Next up they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.