DENVER — The Broncos are 1-0 after edging out the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.

With the first win in the bag, the talk of the town has been surrounding Von Miller’s three-sack game, Phillip Lindsay’s coming out party and Case Keenum’s rollercoaster ride, but lost in the headline talk is three players who deserve their own proverbial helmet stickers for their performances.

Here are three underrated performances from the contest.

Royce Freeman

Folks, we’ve got ourselves a true thunder and lightning combo in Denver, and on Sunday it worked exactly the way it’s supposed to.

After Phillip Lindsay did his work with his speed, getting the defense on their heels, Freeman came in and delivered the knockout punches, using his power to expose a tired defense.

With that being said, what Freeman did on the Broncos’ final drive was big time. In all, it was four carries for 37 yards, and it was just about the final nail in a Seahawks coffin that just didn’t want to stay shut.

“He fought well. He had some big runs late in the game,” said head coach Vance Joseph. “We got back to running the football after the turnovers. We got back to running the football and really took the game back on the ground, and it made their pass defense soft. I was proud of Royce for how he ran downhill. It’s a single-high, it’s a loaded-box defense every play, so it wasn’t going to be easy running the football against these guys. But, we stayed with it, and it worked out for us.”

Winning teams find ways to run the ball when the whole stadium knows that’s what they’re doing. The Broncos were a winning team on Sunday.

Brandon McManus

Everybody loves touchdowns and sacks, but can we get some love for the kicker?

Lost in the fact that everybody expects every field goal to go in is the fact that McManus hit two from 50+ on the day, and the Broncos needed both of them.

In the midst of a Murphy’s Law season for the Broncos last year, McManus missed eight field goals, the most of his career. It was just one of the many things that plagued Denver on their way to 5-11.

On Sunday, Case Keenum’s interceptions were the difference between an easy Broncos victory and a close one, add in a missed field goal—or any other big mistake—and we might be talking about a loss here.

Hat tip to McManus.

Side note: Both of his bombs would have been good from 60+.

Adam Jones

After Vance Joseph played it coy all week about how much his new veteran corner would play, especially given how brief his time in Denver had been leading up to the game, the 34-year-old corner was in there early and often.

What’s more? Jones looked really solid in his time.

On top of the “game-sealing” interception to put away Seattle once and for all, Jones had a pass breakup, a tackle for a loss and drew a flag in the end zone on Brandon Marshall with a little bit of veteran savviness. Jones’ receiver was targeted three times in the game, and he allowed one reception for three yards in those opportunities.

He also would have had a big punt return early in the game, but it was eventually called back for holding.

All in all, Adam Jones looked like a good pickup for the Broncos.