Broncos Game Grades: Brett Rypien wasn't the answer in a 16-9 loss to the Jets

DENVER, Colo. — Here we are again.

The Broncos lost 16-9 to the New York Jets on Sunday, extending their losing streak to four games. Denver is now 2-5 and facing dire straits.

Here’s how the Broncos graded out…

Offense

Brett Rypien – D+

For the most part, Rypien did his job. He managed the offense decently. He converted a couple of third downs. He threw some good balls that weren’t rewarded, including one to Jerry Jeudy in the back of the end zone, a post to Courtland Sutton deep downfield, and a hole shot to KJ Hamler that was bailed out by a roughing the passer call.

Rypien also had some bad throws. He missed Hamler on a third down, he got Jerry Jeudy blown up on a screen and he threw a baffling ball that the safety picked off easily. (The interception was a very rare play in which Rypien didn’t feel the pressure out like a vet.)

Rypien completed 24 of 46 passes for 225 yards and an interception. That’s exactly what it felt like.

RB Melvin Gordon – C

Gordon was back in the driver’s seat at running back but he didn’t do much with the opportunity. His 11 carries were worth 33 yards. He made a great catch to move the chains on the final drive.

RB Latavius Murray – C-

Eight carries for 24 yards. The exact same average as Gordon. Not picking up the first down on a third-down catch in the fourth quarter bumps him down.

RB Mike Boone – B+

The quickness. The burst. The back-to-back splash runs that picked up 22 yards. Boone’s ankle injury is the big story of his night but there’s a lot to like about what he did on the field.

FB Andrew Beck – A-

The Broncos fullback may ahve had the best lead-blocking night of his career against the Jets. He led the way on the touchdown run. He led the way on KJ Hamler’s end around. Nothing flashy, but some important blocks from the fullback.

TE Greg Dulcich – B+

Dulcich was awesome in his second start. He didn’t provide a deep threat but he was consistently open underneath, including on third downs. He provided key plays at key times. The way he runs wherever he’s going stands out.

WR Courtland Sutton – D+

Back-to-back weeks. Back-to-back weak performances.

Sutton lost the battle with rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner. He caught three balls for 23 yards. He provided some good blocks, like on KJ Hamler’s end around, but he also missed the block that got JErry Jeudy blown up on a screen. Sutton is coming back down to earth.

WR Jerry Jeudy – A-

97 yards is worthy of an A. While there was more on out there for Jeudy on Sunday, especially on his drop on the first play of the second half, it’s tough to complain about what the Broncos got from Jeudy. He made a clean contested grab at the sticks on a slant on the firs drive. (He followed that grab up with back-to-back really good blocks. That’s a bit of a surprise.) He caught the 45-yard crosser. He made a great move on an out route to convert a 3rd & 10 that set up the Broncos’ lone touchdown. The fact that there was more out there for Jeudy is a positive.

WR KJ Hamler – C-

KJ Hamler tried as hard as ever. He worked to get himself free on a couple of occasions. He was fearless attacking defensive linemen as a blocker. But he just didn’t produce at a high level. One catch for four yards is disappointing. Some great work on the 12-yard end around bumps him up slightly.

LT Cam Fleming – C

Fleming gave up a drive-ending sack in the third quarter and wasn’t all that notable in the running game.

LG Dalton Risner – C+

It was far from a stellar night for Risner but the cmopetition he faced made his night tougher. He was late getting to the second level on a couple of ocassions, but was typically helping his center handle Quinnen Williams for the first half second of each snap.

C Lloyd Cushenberry – C

Cushenberry spent much of the night battling with Quinnen Williams, and he held his own. There were no resounding wins but there were very few impactful losses too. His big knock is for allowing the pressure on Brett Rypien’s interception.

RG Quinn Meinerz – A-

Another week, another great performance from Quinn Meinerz. He was solid in pass protection. He helpe out when others missed blocks. He found a way to help out on the touchdown run, despite starting on tha backside of the play and he was quick to the second level all night.

LT Billy Turner – C+

Turner provided a nice pouting in his debut in the starting lineup. He gave up pressure on the fourth-down deep ball to Courtland Sutton in the final minutes of the game, but he was solid on in the running game. He made a good block in space on the edge in the third quarter but it took him awhile to get out there.

Defense

DL DJ Jones – B-

The Broncos’ veteran defensive lineman didn’t do anything special against the Jets. He was part of a defensive front that controlled the ground game, for the most part. He was active, including on the first play of the game when he provided a slight pressure.

DL Dre’Mont Jones – A

Back-to-back sacks for Dre’Mont Jones earn him his A.

DL DeShawn Williams – B-

A solid performance but nothing really stands out. He could’ve gotten credit for chasing Zach Wilson out of bounds, had Wilson not chucked the ball away at the last second on the illegal man downfield.

Mike Purcell

DL Matt Henningsen – B

The Broncos’ rookie defenseive lineman was around the ball often on Sunday. He produced three tackles.

OLB Bradley Chubb – B+

The stats may not show it but Bradley Chubb was a force against the Jets. When Dre’Mont Jones made his second sack, it was because Chubb had coralled the quarterback in the backfield, after fighting past two blockers. He procided good rushes all night and was the finisher on multiple occasions when the Broncos needed a tackle.

OLB Baron Browning – B-

Browning’s day ended early because of a hip injury, but he didn’t make the stat sheet before that. He did trigger quickly downhill from his coverage zone when Zach Wilson broke the pocket and ate up ground quickly to force an incomplete pass.

LB Alex Singleton – C-

After a record-setting week against the Chargers, the mistakes are what stood out for Singleton on Sunday. He overran the gap on two of the Jets’ big plays—Braxton Berrios’ 25-yard run and Breece Hall’s 62-yard touchdown. He was also juked by Zach Wilson in space.

There was some good: like when Singleton made tackles at the sticks on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter to hold the JEts to a field goal, but the mistakes are the story of the day.

LB Jonas Griffith – C+

The big mistake from Griffith was a bad angle when trying to tackle Michael Carter on 1st & 25. Instead of giving uo six or seven yards, Carter gained 37 and moved the sticks. Outside of that, it was another solid afternoon for Griffith. He made a great paly to get off a block and blow up a bubble screen.

CB Pat Surtain II – A-

Another quiet night for the Broncos’ start cornerback. A missed one-on-one tackle in the fourt quarter gave up 10 extra yards on a scoring drive and knocks his grade down slightly.

CB Damarri Mathis – B+

After an ugly first start, Mathis bounced back with a solid performance. He provided the coverage that forced a three-and-out on the first drive. He was part of a secondary that held the Jets to 125 passing yards and he didn’t give up any notable plays. He gave up a third-down slant but was right there to make the tackle short of the sticks in the third quarter. There’s still plenty to clean up—he could’ve been quicker seeing a running back leaking to the flat in zone coverage—but there was a lot more to like this week.

CB K’Waun Williams – C-

Williams was called for a fourth-quarter pass interference that flipped the field on a 3rd & 17. That’s inexecusable. He basically handed the Jets their final field goal.

Outside of that play, it was a solid day. He forced an incompletion with a pressure. He had a great third-down pass breakup at the sticks in the second quarter.

FS Justin Simmons – B

Luckily for Simmons, the dropped interception doesn’t matter since K’Waun Williams would have been called for pass interference either way. He didn’t make any big plays but he played his role well. He ended the long Braxton Berrios role. He triggered downhill on a 3rd & 7 slant to help make the stop, but he wasn’t needed. Still, he was in the right spots.

SS Kareem Jackson – B

Like Simmons, Jackson did his job well but wasn’t needed all that often on Sunday. He only had two tackles.

Special Teams

Brandon McManus – D+

The missed extra point was mostly on the holder. The missed field goak was long, but in a tight game McManus needs to hit it.

P Corliss Waitman – D+

Waitman was busy again on Sunday. He punted six times for 240 yards. The average is nothing special, neither is the 46-yard long, but three punts downed inside the 20 and no touchbacks is very solid. The reason for the poor grade was his poor handling of the missed extra point.

PR Montrell Washington – B-

Washington’s lone punt return showed great effort to pick up two yards. His lone offensive touch was an end around, during which he showed great effort to pick up two yards.