Throughout the entire 2019-20 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.

Sure, he Broncos were expected to lose at Lambeau Field against a hot Green Bay Packers squad, but few would’ve thought Denver could’ve played that well and still lost by 11.

In a game in which the Broncos gained more first downs, had fewer penalties, and controlled the clock, they also found ways to extend their sackless and turnoverless streaks while Joe Flacco was sacked a career-high six times.

After going back to the tape, here’s how it all went down.

Standouts from the game

De’Vante Bausby: A

Bausby showed off his extraordinary ball skills with two massive pass deflections that forced third-down stops. Despite getting targeted a team-high six times, he only conceded three catches for 23 yards due to his aggressive ball-hawking play.

Elijah Wilkinson: F

Wilkinson had a rough outing, getting beat for three sacks, one of which was a game-altering strip-sack. Despite a few nice moments as a run blocker, he wasn’t consistent enough, allowing a tackle for a loss and two run stops, in a really rough outing. 

Justin Simmons: A

You didn’t hear Simmons’ name much, which is great for the free safety who did come downhill to lay the wood on a couple of plays and only allowed one catch for four yards.

Phillip Lindsay: A+

Scoring two touchdowns in a game in which he accounted for 130 all-purpose yards, Lindsay was dynamic in space and special breaking tackles in key situations. He quietly did a really nice job in pass protection too.

Defense

Adam Gotsis: B

It was a classic Gotsis performance with two nice flash plays getting into the backfield; forcing a holding penalty on a run and then flushing Aaron Rodgers out the pocket with a hurry. His impact rushing the passer was lacking outside of that, though he did play his part in holding the Packers run game to only 3.3 yards per carry.

Shelby Harris: B-

Harris had his best game of the season and was around the ball more, getting in the backfield with increased consistency and hustling in pursuit. Like Gotsis, he was a big part of the run defense as well. Not a high impact performance but a strong outing none the less. 

Derek Wolfe: N/A

Wolfe was injured early in the second quarter, making a minimal impact with one tackle against the run. DeMarcus Walker took his place and, despite playing 40 percent of the snaps, had zero tackles and created little pressure, unable to take advantage of one-on-one opportunities.

Von Miller: C-

Von will get a lot of criticism, but this wasn’t a terrible outing, as he did hurry Rodgers a couple of times and had a run stuff. While he did push the pocket to force Rodgers off his spot on the aforementioned hurries, it was concerning to see him unable to disengage from his blocks to get any true sack opportunities. 

Josey Jewell: D

Jewell led the team in tackles despite having to leave the game early due to a leg injury. While he did have a couple of splash plays defending the run, he was too slow sideline-to-sideline and in coverage. As if that wasn’t enough, he was also flagged for a facemask.

Todd Davis: D

Davis didn’t impact the game at all in his season debut, as he looked slow and managed just a couple tackles 10 yards downfield.

Bradley Chubb: C+

Chubb was stout against the run with three impressive tackles for a loss added to a quarterback hurry. A crucial offsides penalty on the Packers opening score and a limited impact rushing the passer—despite getting moved around and given one-on-one opportunities against left guard Billy Turner—hurt quite a bit.

Chris Harris Jr.: B

Initially, it looked like Harris struggled, allowing two completions to Davante Adams in very soft off coverage. At the end of the day, that’s all he allowed in a fairly pristine game.

Kareem Jackson: C+

Jackson was strong against the run with two run stuffs and a TFL while rarely getting tested in coverage. Problem is, he did allow a 40-yard touchdown deep which hurt his grade quite a bit.

Other noteworthy defensive performances:

Isaac Yiadom started the game but was quickly replaced by Bausby after being targeted twice early on.

Will Parks was targeted four times and only allowed one grab over the middle for 14 yards, playing strong defense when called upon. 

Trey Marshall allowed a big 3rd-and-15 completion on a play where the Broncos dropped eight in coverage. 

Offense

Garett Bolles: D+

Bolles was much more consistent and did a pretty nice job in pass protection while regularly getting to the second level as a run blocker. However, he did allow two sacks, one to end the game, and was guilty allowing a run stop too. So while he looked much better, he was still miles away from perfect. 

Dalton Risner: B-

Risner did a fairly nice job of creating push for the run game despite allowing 1.5 run stops against the Packers formidable dfesnive line. He was also crucial pushing the pile and getting Lindsay in the end zone for a big fourth-down score. 

Connor McGovern: B-

At one point, McGovern got absolutely knocked on his back by Kenny Clark and did, at times, get pushed around as a run blocker, but considering the huge test, he battled admirably and really held his own in pass protection. 

Ron Leary: B-

Leary helped the run game with some stout blocking despite disappointing a bit when on the move on a couple of pulls. He was flagged for a big holding penalty but was otherwise perfect in pass protection.

Jeff Heuerman: C

Heuerman was a nice security blanket on dump-off passes and solid as a blocker, if unspectacular.

Courtland Sutton: B+

Going against one of the better cornerback duos in the league, Sutton did more than hold his own, making tough grabs in key situations and even gaining separation deep in another strong outing. 

Emmanuel Sanders: D

Sanders struggled to get loose with Jaire Alexander in coverage on him. Alexander even baited him into a phantom holding penalty that the DB sold to perfection, nullifying a massively important touchdown run. 

Royce Freeman: C+

Freeman was dealing with a shoulder injury early on and seemed to dance around too much instead of taking on contact. When he did get downhill, he was strong and had a solid performance running in between the tackles.  

Joe Flacco: D

Much like Rodgers, Flacco wasn’t very accurate as the weather seemed to have an impact on both passing games. His ball placement wasn’t great while he missed a couple throws he should’ve had. He did make a couple of big completions, though he struggled under pressure as he couldn’t make enough plays above the Xs and Os to overcome the Packers phenomenal defense.

Other noteworthy offensive performances:

Noah Fant looked better as a receiver and wasn’t nearly as much of a liability as a blocker,  but none of that mattered as his fumble on 3rd-and-2 was an absolute backbreaker.

Special Teams: C+

Diontae Spencer had a fantastic 60-yard kick return and another risky punt return that resulted in a block in the back penalty.

On just three punts, Colby Waldman and the punt coverage unit did a good job too.

Brandon McManus, on the other hand, missed an extra point.

Coaching: B-

It would be easy if we could just criticize the coaching staff, but in some ways, it almost felt like they made it so that the Broncos overachieved at Lambeau by hanging with a really good team and playing an almost penalty-free game.

Vic Fangio‘s game plan worked nicely, though, at this point, it’s fair to wonder if the team is playing into their opponent’s hand and not finding ways to adjust. The head coach also had a pretty questionable challenge on offensive pass interference. 

Ed Donatell’s defense played well, but it’s ultimately been too “bend don’t break” and not aggressive enough for a unit that has to make a few game-changing plays if this team is ever going to win. 

Rich Scangarello‘s offense extended drives with regularity and controlled the clock but didn’t show nearly enough urgency in the fourth quarter. While his hands are tied to some extent, it’s just been too safe of an approach offensively.