Throughout the entire 2018-19 season, BSN Denver will be giving you game grades from every Denver Broncos contest. Evaluating all the starters and beyond to give you a better look at the team’s strengths and weaknesses on a game-to-game basis.

In a close 27-24 win against the Seattle Seahawks, in which the Broncos looked like the much better team, there were plenty of storylines and heroes in a big Week 1 victory. We broke it all down.

Standouts from the game

Von Miller: A+

Miller started off slow with the Seahawks bringing extra blockers to his side, but once Seattle tried to go up-tempo in the two-minute drill at the end of the half, No. 58 came alive. First, he smoked the right tackle for a super sack, and followed it up with a monster sack shortly thereafter, forcing a Russell Wilson fumble.

Miller had another quarterback hit chasing Wilson down and forced an incredible fumble by stripping RB Chris Carson from behind.

He finished the game off with another sack in pursuit and then closed on Wilson on a botched snap.

He ended the day with three sacks, two forced fumbles, and four quarterback hits in a truly special performance.

Phillip Lindsay: A

Lindsay just brought an extra jolt to the offense every time he touched the ball. He was a versatile runner all day long, equally impacting the ground game up the middle and on outside runs, where his burst and speed stood out.

He scored an early touchdown, showing that speed to the sideline and beating the ultra-athletic Shaquem Griffin. 

No. 30 was a crucial weapon for Denver’s offense, breaking tackles and making defenders miss in space, he just wouldn’t go down early and was a weapon every time he touched the ball. As if that wasn’t enough, he added a tackle while double-teamed in punt coverage.

On third and short he dropped a pass, essentially his only hiccup of the game.

Emmanuel Sanders: A

Sanders put on a route-running clinic, getting open at will early on towards the sideline and converting some crucial third downs. As the game went on, he had to make a couple tough grabs on low throws and always hauled in the ball as he made 10 catches on 11 targets.

His best play was a 43-yard touchdown in which he ran a terrific route and then did a nice job hitting the corner to get the score. 

He finished the game off with a couple really tough receptions in the second half, playing a huge role in the offense’s ability to extend drives and get the win. A throwback performance from No. 10. 

Todd Davis: A-

Davis had himself a game, playing a huge factor against the run, stopping runners in their tracks by ramming his way through gaps. He even ran down Russell Wilson on a few scrambles and was all over the field, playing with his hair on fire, doing a wonderful job in pursuit and running down everything from screens to outside runs or QB scrambles. 

He did a terrific job on a blitz up the middle, forcing a bad pass from Wilson and getting a third-down stop, too.

In coverage, he wasn’t much of a liability and was able to limit big gains, though he did allow one 24-yard completion to Will Dissly. 

Just a tough, well-rounded performance from 51.

Defense

Derek Wolfe: C

Playing in 82 percent of the defensive snaps, Wolfe was fairly absent in the first half and got pushed off the ball a bit against the run. Against the pass, he was effective handling double blocks to free up others. 

The veteran lineman’s play of the game was a huge tackle for a loss in a big drive at the end of the game, doing a great job of shedding the block and closing on the play in the backfield. 

Domata Peko: C+

Peko didn’t make many plays but had his typical impact, eating up blocks and making it tough to run up the middle against the Denver ‘D’. He did pressure Wilson, forcing a pass over the middle on 2nd-and-long, his best play of the game, but was also flagged for unnecessary roughness, a penalty that turned out to be costly. 

A good job overall. 

Adam Gotsis: B-

Gotsis’ major contributions were two passes deflected at the line of scrimmage. He also got a quarterback hurry on a screen pass, forcing an incompletion. He moved well up front and did a nice job impacting the pass while not struggling to defend the run. A good showing against a pretty underwhelming OL group.

Bradley Chubb: C+

Chubb had an interesting game, as he was dropped a bit too much in coverage early on and it ultimately had a big impact on the two big plays by Dissly. The TD wasn’t his fault, but the 66-yard gain was. Chubb also struggled to get off blocks early as he wasn’t creating consistent pressure.

In fact, the rookie’s main contribution early was against the run where he was stout and created good penetration.

He started to be more dangerous, creating pressure against the pass and keeping Wilson off balance. The rook even got a half sack by bursting through the line to gang tackle the QB at the start of the game.

It wasn’t his best performance, and he probably was over-utilized in coverage, but you saw some of the flashes of the great player he can be. 

Brandon Marshall: C+

Marshall wasn’t tested much in coverage, allowing one reception for nine yards. He mostly just had to make a few tackles up the middle on longer down-and-distance plays or on screens to limit big gains. 

He had a solid outing, even if without a major impact.

Darian Stewart: C+

Stewart had one major blemish, a costly one, as he lost Dissly on his touchdown early on. That aside, he didn’t allow anything in coverage and was physical on a Nick Vannett crosser, absolutely annihilating the TE to ensure he didn’t make the third-down grab. Stewart also had a half sack in the opening drive on a nice blitz.

A good game, all things considered, despite the touchdown allowed. 

Justin Simmons: C+

Simmons was targeted a ton, more than any other defender on the Broncos, and he did pretty well aside from getting burned for the big Tyler Lockett TD, biting on the double move to concede the huge 51-yard play.

The rest of his game was clean, making tough tackles in space and then coming up with the monster interception, showing amazing hops to come down with the pick in zone coverage.

Considering how much he was tested, he did a good job, even if that TD stings. 

Bradley Roby: D+

Roby was only tested three different times in coverage and ended up conceding a reception on all three occasions, allowing a pair of 20-yard grabs and a touchdown to Brandon Marshall where he didn’t get his head turned around. He also was hurdled as Carson took off for a big gain. 

In a game where Seattle didn’t target their receivers a ton, it was disappointing to not see him do a better job making plays on the ball. 

Chris Harris Jr.: A-

Harris was seldom tested, and when he was, he was up to the task, conceding only two receptions for 13 yards. He made a few clutch plays with a pass deflection in the end zone and then in great coverage on Marshall down the sideline, making sure to knock the ball out.

No. 25 added a sack off of a corner blitz and made a nice tackle in space on 3rd-and-16, forcing a punt. 

Other noteworthy defensive performances:

Adam Jones: A-

Denver’s new No. 24 had a fine outing, looking really strong in coverage as he conceded only one reception for six yards on three passes thrown his way.

He also had a tackle for a loss down on the goal line and an interception to close out the game. Even his biggest blemish—a missed tackle to the flats—wasn’t a problem as he still slowed down the runner.

Shelby Harris: A

Harris did a good job creating pressure up the middle with two quarterback hits. He added a tackle for a loss against the run in a wonderful performance. 

Shaquil Barrett: B

Shaq did a great job chasing down Wilson for a sack to close out final drive of the first half, his one big play as he only appeared in seven percent of the snaps.

Offense

Garett Bolles: A-

Bolles was very effective and seemed to benefit from Ron Leary helping him on double teams on top of having a tight end on his side from time to time.

He was mauling defenders at times. For example,  he pushed his man 10-yards downfield on the big touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders. He just seemed much more in control in pass protection, allowing only one hurry the entire game.

He was solid run blocking, as well, and was even put on the move a bit, a great way to start his sophomore campaign. 

Ron Leary: B-

Leary wasn’t at his best in opening up holes for the run, though he did play well in pass protection, even if he got a bit tired towards the end of the game.

His biggest blemish was a holding call as he slipped and was forced to grab the defender but had a fairly clean game against Seattle.

Matt Paradis: C

Paradis conceded the first and only sack of the game, as he got beat by Frank Clark on a stunt. He also allowed a tackle for a loss up the middle as the Broncos struggled a bit to run the ball in the third quarter.  

Connor McGovern: C+

McGovern did a nice job in pass protection even handling one-on-one blocks to perfection. He did, however, struggle a bit run blocking in the second half, allowing penetration on a few runs. He was also guilty of conceding four run stops—runs that went for two yards or less—struggling some to stop interior penetration.

Jared Veldheer: A-

As Von Miller dominated the Seahawks right tackle, it was easy to forget the Broncos were in that same situation just a season ago. Not anymore. Admittedly with extra help from the tight ends, Veldheer did a superb job not conceding any pressure from his side and sealing the edge on a few Royce Freeman runs late. A great debut, even if he did allow a couple run stuffs in the second half.  

Royce Freeman: B

Freeman did really well in the opening half but struggled a bit when he had to run up the middle. By the end of the game, even the inside runs were successful as he imposed his will on the Seahawks ‘D’ and did a nice job closing out the game with some tough runs, making men miss and breaking tackles.

A big performance by the rookie, even if he was far from perfect. 

Demaryius Thomas: B

Thomas was frustrating early on and did have a few drops, only hauling in six of the 10 passes thrown his way. As if that wasn’t enough, he wasn’t on the same page with Keenum on the first interception which seemed to be, at least partially, his fault.

He did get going, slowly but surely, and eventually scored the winning touchdown on an insanely tough grab to the sideline in the end zone. 

Not his best outing, but he showed glimpses of his old greatness.

Jeff Heuerman: C+

Heuerman was an unsung hero as a blocker, helping out Veldheer and doing a nice job sealing off the edge for the run, though he did allow a couple run stops.

He had one reception, beating a linebacker for 15 yards on a really nice sideline grab, but the majority of his impact was felt as a blocker. 

Case Keenum: C+

Keenum showed glimpses of brilliance, or at least competence, as a QB in control who can lead the offense on scoring drives with consistency. 

He completed 71-percent of his passes, and his ball placement was excellent for the majority of the game, but there is room for improvement as he missed a few opportunities that could’ve easily put him over 350 passing yards. 

Each of the three picks were bad in their own right, and it looked as if he forced things a bit. It’ll be interesting to see if he can rein it in a bit more and pick his spots. 

He also wasn’t great on third down, converting only two of nine attempts, but ultimately made the winning play of the game down in the red zone. 

He certainly wasn’t perfect, but he competed and played really well when the offense was in rhythm, scoring three touchdowns and only getting sacked once.

Other noteworthy offensive performances:

Courtland Sutton: B

No. 14 did a nice job stretching out on an in-route to make tough grab over the middle for a 14-yard gainer and then had another 20-yard grab. Keenum missed him on another potential big play, but he looked promising. 

Jake Butt: C+

Butt did a pretty good job as a receiver with two nice receptions to convert first downs. He was also fairly effective as a blocker on a decent amount of two tight end sets.

Special Teams: B+

The punting unit, led by Marquette King, did a nice job, with a couple well-spotted punts, even if he almost got one blocked and left you wanting for more on a few occasions. The coverage teams did a nice job, as well. 

Brandon McManus was big with two 50-yard kicks, especially the 53-yard field goal that looked like it could’ve gone for about 70. 

Coaching: B-

Early on, Bill Musgrave was making great play calls with the offense humming and playing with good tempo.

Joe Woods’ defense brought pressure with some nice blitzes, especially in the later stages of the game, which helped close it out. If not for a few iffy decisions to drop Chubb in coverage on Will Dissy, the Broncos could’ve closed the game out by halftime.

Vance Joseph did a good job managing the clock and winning the position battle in a generally well-managed outing. 

There are still plenty of things to clean up on both sides of the ball, and it felt like the Broncos let Seattle hang around, but it was easy to see how improved the team was in all facets of the game.