Throughout the entire 2017-18 season, BSN Denver will be giving you game grades from every Denver Broncos contest. Evaluating all of the starters and beyond to give you a better look at the team’s strengths and weaknesses on a game-to-game basis.

In their first outing on the road, the Denver Broncos suffered a tough 26-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills in which they saw plenty of good performances but also suffered some crucial mistakes that cost them the game. Here are our grades.

Defense

Domata Peko: A

Peko was superb and a big reason why Denver once again shut down the opposing running game. He’s truly been a force stopping the run and created even more penetration against the Bills then he had in weeks past.

Derek Wolfe: B-

Wolfe’s game was just fine, maybe not the impactful performance he had Week 2 but far from being a liability as he was at times in Week 1. Wolfe’s presence was felt much more in the first half while Shelby Harris and Adam Gotsis had the big plays from the defensive end spot in half number two.

Adam Gotsis: B-

Gotsis was almost absent in the first half, seldom making plays that got him noticed. By half number two he started to get going and had a crucial stop down on the goal line, stuffing the run and then getting a big tipped pass on third down that was sadly irrelevant because Von Miller was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on that play.

Von Miller: A-

Miller’s game will, in many ways, be remembered for the crazy penalty he was called on after delivering a masterful hit on Tyrod Taylor.

That penalty aside, Miller was a force, starting the game off with a sack on rookie left tackle Dion Dawkins and creating endless pressure from thereon. He was also a major factor against the run where he had an elite tackle for a loss on LeSean McCoy out on the edge and did a great job holding down the Bills elusive backfield.

If you want to criticize Miller, he didn’t manage to close down any more sacks on Taylor when Denver needed it in the second half.

Todd Davis: A

After having been surprisingly underutilized against the Dallas Cowboys vaunted running game, Davis was a major factor against Buffalo. No. 51 had a huge impact and made lots of plays for no gain or a loss of yards. He was a factor shooting gaps up the middle and was stout on the goal line, even standing up Mike Tolbert.

Davis even had a great tackle in space on tight end Charles Clay, knocking him back on a screen for no gain. When needed to create pressure or close down on Taylor’s runs, he was efficient. A great game.

Brandon Marshall: B

Marshall was asked to do a lot and did a more-than-respectable job. He held Taylor at bay when asked to play on the strong side and was mostly solid tackling against the run where he was essential stuffing gaps up the middle with Davis. In pass coverage, he played a great game blanketing Clay.

It did look like Marshall was beaten in coverage down the seam by slot receiver Kaelin Clay who made a big play to get Buffalo’s offense going on their first touchdown drive. There’s little else you can criticize in his performance.

Shaquil Barrett: B+

Barrett had a great game, creating constant pressure and stopping the run from the very first play on. His biggest negative play came when he wasn’t able to create a sack on Taylor allowing an incredible 3rd-and-6 conversion, on a scramble, where he seemed to have the QB dead to rights.

For all the pressure he created, you would’ve liked to see him get a sack, or two, as he ended up with only one official quarterback hit, but overall this was a terrific game.

Darian Stewart: B

This wasn’t an easy game for Stewart, as the Broncos were on their back heels a few times and he was essential with some clutch tackles against the run as the last line of defense. In coverage, he did his thing allowing nothing to get past him.

Justin Simmons: C

Simmons made a crucial mistake on the Bills first touchdown drive by losing sight of Jordan Matthews in the slot and allowing a big gain. Doing that on 3rd-and-6 was particularly costly.

In a game that was close and came down to a few missed plays, this was quietly one of the bigger misses.

Chris Harris Jr.: C

This wasn’t Harris’ best game, even if he wasn’t tested all that much. The few times he was though, it was in coverage on Matthews, the big slot receiver, who he didn’t play particularly sticky coverage on and ultimately allowed two big receptions that were key in Buffalo’s two touchdown drives.

Aqib Talib: A

Talib’s impact was mostly felt tackling out on the perimeter where he came up and did a nice job closing on McCoy down on the goal-line. He was huge in bringing down Matthews on 3rd-and-2 to force the ball out of the receivers hands later on.

Other noteworthy defensive performances

Shelby Harris was fantastic in this game, stuffing lanes against the run and also creating pressure. He had a monstrous sack where he dominated pro-bowl left guard Richie Incognito, forcing a timely stop. He’s turning into a stout player.

Bradley Roby was the unfortunate corner in coverage on Andre Holmes’ lucky tipped touchdown, though there was little he could have done.

Will Parks was called for a stupid unnecessary roughness penalty on a kick return after Broncos first field goal. He then got beat by tight end Nick O’Leary on a great sideline pass and catch. Not his best game.

Offense

Garett Bolles: B-

Bolles flashed right at the beginning of the game as he absolutely tossed Jerry Hughes to the ground on an outside rush, and looked good battling through his injury to start.

He did allow pressure, and while he looked pretty good in the first half, he allowed a bit more rush from the outside, but still bought Siemian enough time in the pocket to escape from it. All in all, his cleanest game as a pro and a gutsy performance playing banged up.

Allen Barbre: C+

Barbre was again used in a rotation with Max Garcia, and again he looked better than his counterpart. He was called for a false start that was especially costly on third down and struggled some with Buffalo’s powerful interior line in creating holes for the run.

He got out in space on a few pulls and was crucial in Jamaal Charles’ touchdown run. He was also generally solid in pass protection.

Max Garcia: D-

Garcia got beat on the inside by Lorenzo Alexander forcing a Siemian scramble on second down in the red zone. He then was absolutely demolished by Adolphus Washington for a costly tackle for a loss that forced 2nd-and-23 in the Broncos own 15. He allowed another big pressure on Siemian’s first costly interception forcing him out the pocket. In 43 snaps, he was extremely disappointing.

Matt Paradis: C-

This wasn’t Paradis’ best game as he wasn’t allowed to get in space to block on the second level as much and struggled more in pass protection then he had the first two weeks.

The Bills defensive tackles were stout as prognosticated and Paradis struggled at times with Kyle Williams. It looked like he missed an A-gap blitz by Alexander forcing a stop on a C.J. Anderson run for no gain.

Ronald Leary: B-

Leary made his presence felt in the Broncos lone touchdown drive by simply mauling in the run game. He opened up a huge hole for Anderson to take off for 32 yards. That sett the Broncos up in the red zone, where Leary again created the push to get Jamaal Charles in for the score.

It was disappointing to not see Denver run behind Leary more from there on. He did get called for a hold in the second half that was one of the many unnecessary penalties that put the Broncos behind the eight ball.

Menelik Watson: C+

Watson didn’t create the same push in the run game that he has in other games, but he was better in pass protection. Especially handling Shaq Lawson who’d been great for the Bills in the first two weeks. He wasn’t perfect and did allow some pressure but bought Siemian enough time to scramble for the most part.

Watson, too, had a false start down in the red zone turning a 3rd-and-7 into 3rd and 12.

C.J. Anderson: C

Anderson didn’t have his best game with limited touches; eight runs and two targets in the passing game. It was disappointing to not see him get the ball more, though he was fairly inefficient aside from his one big run.

Demaryius Thomas: B

Thomas ended up with 98 yards receiving, but nothing came easy in this game as he was interfered with a few times and always had small cushions to work with in coverage.

He did a good job being physical and pulling off six hard-fought catches, showing some incredible hands and the ability to make adjustments on the ball.

His biggest mistake came when No. 88 was called on an offensive PI that cost Denver a third-down conversion as he didn’t execute a pick play all that well.

Emmanuel Sanders: C+

Sanders was targeted 15 times and was clearly a big focus of the offensive game plan, returning mixed results. He had some inaccurate throws come his way and pulled off a few tough grabs. He also couldn’t pull through with a big catch that he ended up bobbling and should have been a huge gain for Denver.

When you don’t have a top-end quarterback, your star receivers need to make plays beyond the X’s and O’s, and I’m not sure Sanders did enough in this one.

Virgil Green: C-

Based on average grade through the first two weeks, few had faired better than Green, whose presence as a blocker was especially felt. Against Buffalo, he wasn’t as powerful blocking out on the strong side as Lawson made life hard on him. Green did do a nice job when lined up in the backfield as an added blocker but wasn’t used nearly enough that way.

Trevor Siemian: D-

The grade shouldn’t be an indictment on Siemian as a player or his long-term status, but in a game in which the Broncos needed their quarterback to make some plays while trailing, he faltered. Of course, had his flashes, but ultimately it wasn’t enough.

The first interception was probably a bit forced but also unlucky as it seemed as if Bennie Fowler slipped on the pass on a throw that was behind him. The second INT is unexplainable, just a bad play where the ball should have been thrown out of bounds.

He did make some nice plays on the run and found some tough throws while flushed out of the pocket. Buffalo did a nice job of pressing up on zones and taking away space underneath, and Siemian didn’t do enough to counter the defense.

More of a game-managing approach would have been a positive as his two turnovers really cost the team. Ultimately, Siemian’s accuracy in tight windows on short to intermediate throws wasn’t as consistent as we saw in the first two weeks.

By the second half, he seemed to be more confused by the Bills scheme on the back end and could have had another interception in this one. Not his best outing but an important learning experience.

Other noteworthy offensive performances

Jamaal Charles looked fantastic in this game. He was explosive and deadly in space. It was a shame to not see him get more touches, but a very encouraging outing for the rest of his season.

Bennie Fowler made a few tough catches and had to be physical with the Bills corners to get his 55 yards on four grabs. A solid outing.

Special Teams: D+

Special teams ultimately cost the Broncos in this game as a bad illegal formation flag erased a great Broncos punt that lost Denver more than 30 yards. The biggest play, of course, was the attempted fake punt that had no chance as Buffalo read the play to perfection. Will Parks was also called on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, gifting Buffalo more yards on a kick return. Just not a clean game.

Brandon McManus was accurate, making all of his three field goal attempts. The return game had its moments with an Isaiah McKenzie 16-yard punt return and Cody Latimer’s great 36-yard kick return to start off the fourth quarter.

The mistakes just cost Denver too much in the end.

Coaching: D

Simply put, the Broncos were out-coached in this one as Sean McDermott’s defense and Rick Dennison’s offense outplayed Denver. In large part, it was because of scheme.

Mike McCoy likely abandoned the run too soon in the second half, and the rotation at left guard finally caught up to him as Garcia had a terrible series on Siemian’s first interception, really pinning Denver back.

McDermott out-coached him with a scheme that was perfectly suited to stopping the short passing game, and McCoy didn’t have enough answers to counter the heavy zones Buffalo threw his way. Play action had some success but, again, Denver seemed to give up on it too quickly. More importantly, the offense played sloppily on the road for the first time with far too many false starts.

Joe Woods can’t be criticized too much as the defense did their job stopping the run and allowed only a couple crucial pass plays. Though in a direct matchup between an old practice foe in Dennison, the Broncos former offensive coordinator won the battle.

Vance Joseph was too aggressive in going for the fake punt at the end of the third quarter while only down four points. With the Broncos defense, it just seemed like he was pressing when it was still too early. He showed his inexperience in not trusting his all-world defense.

All the penalties and struggles to adjust to factors on the road have to fall on the head coach in a pretty sloppy outing that saw crucial mistakes from the offense and special teams.