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Von Miller is undoubtedly a special player, maybe even a generational talent. He’s one of the NFL’s best at his position, and a player whose skills should be cherished, as we might not see a guy like him in this league for a long time.

On Sunday, Miller’s greatness was on full display. With three sacks, seven tackles, one forced fumble and a pass deflection against the Indianapolis Colts, Miller showed off his entire skill set.

We plugged in the film of Miller on Sunday and took a look at what went into to his elite production.

Play in the clutch

While much of the focus is on pure production, it’s Miller’s performance on third downs and at the end of the game that makes him standout. There are other great outside rushers in the league, but few who come through in the clutch like the Super Bowl 50 MVP does on a consistent basis.

Von affected three third downs, greatly impacting all three stops. Two plays where half-sacks Miller shared with Derek Wolfe and Demarcus Ware. He then had a tipped pass early on, where he managed to get into his blockers pads moving him back and then pounced to swat the pass for another third-down stop.

No. 58 also the crucial play of the game in creating the Shane Ray defensive touchdown to put the Broncos out of reach. As if that wasn’t enough he then iced the game on a first-and-five with not timeouts left and the clock running down. With that sack, he essentially forced the Colts into a desperation play with time running out.

Simply put, Miller didn’t just have a productive game but a game that was of great impact on the final result. A big part of this isn’t just being “clutch” but having an elite closing burst that allows him to come through and finish his big play opportunities.

The pass rushing arsenal

Keeping ’em guessing

When going back to watch the tape, Miller didn’t just stand out for his moves and athleticism but also for how he set up blockers throughout the contest.

At the beginning of the game, Miller attacked the right tackle’s inside shoulder to penetrate the gap between the guard and tackle. Miller, then set up wide to get outside the tackle this way, much like he did on the crucial forced fumble at the end of the game.

The true piece of brilliance came on third-and-two early in the second quarter. At this point, Miller had already gone wide and to the inside, in this instance, he set up wide and took a wide angle at first, as he neared the tackle he delivered a quick stutter step and then attacked with his hands, beating the blocker to the inside for the sack. Much like a play-caller, Miller is setting up his direct opponent on every play, keeping them guessing and finding his spots when to pounce and make big plays. This particular move is a true pass rushing masterclass.

Athleticism and power

Von Miller is a real athletic specimen on top of everything else he brings to the table. He’s not just fast, with his ability to scream off the edge and beat any tackle with his electric first step, but he’s agile and bendy. Miller can bend and get under blockers pads like it’s nothing. He also possesses superb balance to do all this and stay on his feet.

Another area in which his speed and balance help, is when he takes on linemen directly. Miller is able to get low, creating the leverage to simply push guys who outweigh him by 50-70-pounds right back into their quarterbacks.

Dealing with doubles

There might be a bit of a misconception if you listen to some national pundits, on how teams are deciding to handle Miller’s blocking assignments. Von did see his fair share of chips and extra blockers in this game, but even then he was still able to affect plays.

On the Aqib Talib pick-six, he’s chipped by the tight end but still gets into the backfield, basically causing Indy to sacrifice an extra target with no effect.

On his final sack on 1st-and-5, with time winding down, he has two blockers dedicated to him and quickly rids himself of the first one and then avoids the second. He’s so dynamic in space that he makes avoiding or quickly slipping by blockers seem easy.  He’s so tough to stop or even slow down for backs and tight ends, that affecting him with double blocks is extremely hard. He’s just a unique weapon.

The Versatility

On top of his pass rushing impact, Miller stood out in other areas of his game as well, his awareness in particular. Von is constantly stalking the ball and quarterback, jumping up to tip passes, or sneaking into throwing lanes to stick out his big mitts and effect passes. His awareness and ability to react might not be talked about much, but that’s a huge part of Miller’s game.

Von is no slouch as a run defender, either. The Colts almost exclusively ran away from his side. He sets a hard edge, and the aforementioned awareness allows him to quickly read plays and get inside blockers to get into running lanes or chase down plays in pursuit.

Miller can also be used in coverage, something that you want to do rarely given his game-breaking ability rushing the passer, but can do so if asked. Twice against the Colts, Miller was put out wide to defend in the slot, first against receiver Donte Moncrief and then on tight end Jack Doyle. Andrew Luck tested Miller when covering Moncrief, but Miller easily directed the wideout inside where T.J. Ward was waiting and knocked the pass down.

To have a player who can be used in all these different areas, on top of being one of the leagues greats rushing off the edge is huge. Making Miller a truly special player and his performance Sunday was special.