Broncos Defensive Game Grades: PJ Locke comes up big down the stretch in Denver's 22-17 loss to the Houston Texans

The winning streak is over.

The Broncos fought back from a pair of 13-point deficits against the Houston Texans on Sunday but were never able to get over the hump in a 22-17 loss. They drove down the field in the final minutes but could not punch the ball into the end zone.

Here’s how the Broncos graded out…

Click here for the offensive grades.

Defensive Linemen

Zach Allen: A — Allen was a menace from start to finish. He mauled the Texans’ interior running line and stuffed a few runs. His presence was crucial to the Broncos’ ability to shut down the Texans’ running game in the second half. His four pressures were two more than any other Bronco. It took him a couple of seconds to get to the quarterback on his half-sack, but he got the job done. 

DJ Jones: A — Usually, pancakes are an offensive stat, but DJ Jones had at least two defensive pancakes on Sunday. On the second drive of the game, Jones tossed a rookie lineman to the side, but the quarterback got rid of the ball before Jones could get to him. Just after halftime, he knocked a man to the ground and blew up a run, which set up a 3rd & 11. My only knock on Jones is that he was moved out of the hole on a quarterback sneak, but that’s a challenging play to make.

Mike Purcell: A- — The stat sheet shows Purcell with two tackles and no other contributions, but the numbers downplay his contributions. Purcell played one of his best games of the season, consistently separating from blockers to clog running lanes. When Jonathon Cooper strip-sacked the quarterback, the play was only possible because Purcell had teed him up.

Jonathan Harris: A — Harris played his best game as a Bronco on Sunday. He played his gap perfectly and came up with a tackle for loss in the second quarter. He had a clean win up the middle on Jonathon Coopers’ strip sack later in the drive. He had a sack up the middle to set up a 3rd & 13 after halftime.

Outside Linebackers

Jonathon Cooper: B — Jonathon Cooper’s stripsack in the second quarter could have set the Broncos up just outside of field goal range, but the Broncos didn’t fall on the ball.  Later on, Cooper had a chance to fall on a fumble but couldn’t bring the ball in. 

Cooper had one of his best games against the run on Sunday. He set the edge well, even collapsing it through a double-team to set up a third down at one point. His big mistake was on a crosser when he was responsible for the flat. The play went for 24 yards, most of them after the catch.

Baron Browning: C+ — Browning got a share of a sack in the third quarter but didn’t have much else to show for the game.

Nik Bonitto: C- — As has been the case most of the season, Bonitto was at his best when the Texans made the mistake of leaving him unblocked. He forced a third-down throwaway on one of those plays before halftime. He forced the throwaway on the final play of the Texans’ final drive in the same situation. When the Texans sent a blocker his way, Bonitto wasn’t as effective.

Drew Sanders: C- — Sanders spent significant time as an outside linebacker in the Broncos’ base defense for the second consecutive week on Sunday. He didn’t come away with much to show for it. (His only tackle was on special teams.) But you could see him learning. He might have taken himself out of position by paying too much attention to setting the edge, but that’s the right side to err on.

Inside Linebackers

Josey Jewell: A- — I have one complaint for Jewell: On the first play of the second drive, somebody was supposed to be in man coverage against the tight end, but nobody covered him. The Texans picked up 27 yards off on a hitch. I think that was Jewell’s man, based on how the rest of the defense behaved. But I’m not confident enough to dock his grade. 

Outside of that play, Jewell was solid. He read pullers and plugged holes in the running game, starting with the first play of the game. He flowed well when the quarterback fled the pocket before halftime and forced a throwaway that set up a punt. He ended a third-down screen short of the sticks after halftime.

Alex Singleton: D+ — Singleton played one of his best games of the season… except for the personal foul penalty that cost the Broncos four points. In my opinion, the ref should have called offsetting penalties, but my opinion isn’t what matters. The free first down is.

Singleton had a couple of sharp blitzes, including a well-disguised run up the gut that got him a sack and helped give the Broncos the ball back down five points in the fourth quarter. 

Cornerbacks

Pat Surtain II: A- — Either Surtain or Simmons blew his assignment and gave up 59 yards on a third down. But there’s no way to know whether the Broncos were playing Cover 4 or Cover 6, so you have to guess. Instead of splitting the blame, I’m not blaming either… but noting that one deserves a much lower grade.

Outside of that play, Surtain generally played well. He gave up a catch short of the sticks to Nico Collins, which is no big deal, but he missed the tackle and gave up the first down. He also had a 3rd & 17 pass breakup at the sticks in the fourth quarter. The good far outweighs the bad… if the big play wasn’t his fault.

Fabian Moreau: D — Moreau finally came back to earth. Coming into Sunday’s game, Moreau had allowed somewhere between a 57 passer rating and a 67, depending on whose accounting you trust. 

On Sunday, Moreau gave up a 52-yard bomb when he was beaten off the line by Nico Collins and couldn’t make up ground while the ball was in the air. Then he gave up 39 yards on a 3rd & 11 when Collins ran a deep post, stopped, and then leaked into space while Moreau was looking into the backfield. He could’ve given up 25 yards on a 3rd & 10 corner route, but the receiver didn’t tap his toes. Moreau picked off a two-point conversion attempt after the Texans’ final touchdown, but that’s his only highlight from Sunday.

Ja’Quan McMillian: B+ — Two plays impact McMillian’s grade significantly. The first is his strip-sack that the Broncos should have been able to recover. The other was when he was turned around by a double-move in the end zone and gave up Houston’s final touchdown. McMillian otherwise played well—he had a good tackle on one screen and penetrated to jam up another—and he gets a good grade.

Damarri Mathis: B — Mathis played nine snaps while Pat Surtain II was banged up. He gave up a six-yard out on his first pass in the game but no other catches. He wasn’t in perfect coverage on a fade route, but the Texans couldn’t complete the pass. He popped a running back short of the sticks on 3rd & 2, but Houston converted the fourth down anyway.

Safeties

Justin Simmons: A — There’s a caveat here. Either Simmons or Pat Surtain blew their coverage assignment on a 59-yard gain that converted a third down. If that was Surtain’s fault, Simmons gets an A. If not, his grade would fall significantly. (How crazy is it that it’s one of the two All-Pros who made the mistake?)

PJ Locke: A — Locke had a great sequence on the final defensive drive of the game, helping the Broncos get the ball back for one final push. On first down, he blitzed and tackled the running back for a loss. He blitzed again on second down and came away with a sack. In two plays, he took the Texans from borderline field goal range to 3rd & 23. 

A receiver got behind him on a scramble drill before halftime in what looked to be Cover 2 defense. The quarterback missed the pass, which bailed Locke out. Luckily for Locke, “What-Ifs” don’t matter. And if they did, he would gain points for being in position for a strip sack if Ja’Quan McMillian hadn’t beaten him to the quarterback by a step. 

Special Teams

Wil Lutz: A — Lutz didn’t miss.

Riley Dixon: B- — Dixon had one of his better games on Sunday. His six punts traveled 266 yards. The average is a little low. But three wound up inside the 20, and none went into the end zone. His coverage—primarily Riley Moss and Tremon Smith—made some great plays to force four fair catches on five punts that landed in bounds.

Click here for the offensive grades.