Throughout the entire 2019-20 season, DNVR 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-by-game basis.

Finally, a win.

The Broncos were facing a tough task against a really talented team but found a way to outplay the Los Angeles Chargers for most of four quarters in a sweet 20-13 victory.

Standouts from the game

Kareem Jackson: A+

Weighing in at 183 pounds, Jackson was the tone-setter against the Bolts’ ground game, flying in from everywhere to make tackles around the line of scrimmage and delivering polished stops out on the perimeter. He was also reliable in coverage and made one of the plays of the game with his touchdown-saving tackle chasing Austin Ekler across the goal line. 

Phillip Lindsay: A

Vision, burst, creativity; Phil’s best traits were on display as he produced big runs at crucial times and was the primary spark for the offense. The beauty of his performance was how he could cut it back and improvise when needed but also make tough runs in between the tackles on one cut.

Von Miller: A

Despite getting double-teamed all day long, Von still lived in the backfield, creating plenty of pressure, including the crucial hurry that forced Rivers into his first interception. He was also active defending the run and fought his way to two-run stuffs. His presence made all the difference for Denver’s depleted front. 

Alexander Johnson: A

Johnson’s imposing presence proved invaluable in stopping the run, but he was even more impressive in coverage. While not the fastest, Johnson was hyper-aware and always around the ball, never beat on the eight targets that came his way. He had an interception, saved a touchdown in coverage at the goal line, and should have had a second pick. 

If he establishes himself as a starter by the end of the year, this will be remembered as the moment he arrived.

Defense

Mike Purcell: B-

Purcell’s impact was felt instantly as he stood his ground and clogged running lanes. He provided exactly what Denver needed at nose tackle, taking on 29 percent of the snaps.

Shelby Harris: B+

Harris was revitalized without having to play primarily as the nose, getting two quarterback hurries, two tipped passes and playing active run defense.

Derek Wolfe: C

With a heavier rotation in place, Wolfe wasn’t on the field as much (60 percent of the defensive snaps), and when he was, he didn’t provide much of an impact, good or bad.

Todd Davis: B

Davis did a terrific job of bending and not breaking in coverage, allowing short receptions and doing a nice job of tackling in space. When given the chance he was a thumper against the run as well, in a key performance while playing every single defensive snap.

Malik Reed: B

Reed was crafty and created a ton of pressure, showing off his motor and evasiveness. Aside from harassing the quarterback, he had a huge touchdown-saving tackle right before Johnson’s massive interception in the end zone and did a nice job defending the run while playing 89 percent of the defensive snaps.

Chris Harris Jr.: B+

Harris proved to be crucial in Keenan Allen’s pedestrian outing and only allowed two catches for 30 yards on four targets.

Justin Simmons: A

Simmons was once again an exemplary last line of defense, coming up to make stout tackles and rarely getting tested in coverage, though always around the ball much like on his interception.

DeVante Bausby: N/A

Bausby started off strong, forcing an incompletion and making a nice tackle against the run before suffering a scary injury. A mix of Duke Dawson Jr.—who was already seeing lots of time covering the slot—Davontae Harris and Isaac Yiadom had to fill in for Bausby with mixed results.

All three were penalized, and Yiadom seemed to wear out his welcome fairly quickly. Harris was probably the best of the bunch, though still far from reliable.

Other noteworthy defensive performances:

Will Parks was solid roaming the line of scrimmage and flying in for a couple nice stops. 

DeMarcus Walker was in the right spot to get a TFL on a busted play and had a crucial run stuff down on the goal line. He’s slowly growing every week. 

Dre’Mont Jones broke into the backfield to force an incompletion and intentional grounding penalty and also blocked a Chargers field goal in an underrated performance. 

Offense

Garett Bolles: C-

Bolles was barely seen or heard, having a limited impact as a run blocker, but still, that’s what you hope to hear. The big exception was getting beat on a strip-sack that cost the Broncos at least three points.

Dalton Risner: C+

Risner played with a nasty edge but wasn’t always the smoothest. He had brawler type performance but wasn’t enough of a mauler or technician and was beat on multiple run stops.

Connor McGovern: B-

McGovern struggled with a couple shotgun snaps, one that Flacco fumbled but managed to throw away. He also allowed Justin Jones to tip a pass resulting in the Broncos lone interception. He had the cleanest game of any offensive lineman otherwise. 

Ron Leary: C+

Leary had his blips, including a holding penalty and allowing penetration on multiple runs and passes. He wasn’t always the smoothest on the move either but did enough to get the job done. 

Elijah Wilkinson: D+

Wilkinson had a tough matchup against Joey Bosa and wasn’t a huge liability but was still a minus on the game. Early on, as Lindsay got going, he did create push off the left side, which proved crucial as he had some highlight blocks but was also guilty of several negative plays, including a Bosa sack and TFL. 

Jeff Heuerman: C

Heuerman did his job. He got open to kickstart the opening drive with a 26-yard gain and was clean as a blocker.

Courtland Sutton: B+

Sutton showed how he can be a YAC machine with his beastly 70-yard touchdown. He was also valuable as a blocker and got open on a couple of key downs underneath. 

Emmanuel Sanders: D

Sanders’ dubious holding flag was his most notable contribution outside of a nice toe-tap grab down the sideline. In a very quiet performance, he did show great effort as a blocker. 

Royce Freeman: C

Freeman ran tough and brought a nice change of pace, though he didn’t force many missed tackles. 

Joe Flacco: C-

Flacco took what the defense game him in a fairly conservative game where he also had two turnovers and almost had another interception. He ultimately turned in a winning performance as he overcame an offensive line that was overpowered by a more talented Chargers front.

Other noteworthy offensive performances:

Andy Janovich was a key part of the running game’s success, making some fantastic blocks.

Andrew Beck helped as a blocker and even hauled in a nice grab for a first down.

Special Teams: D+

Denver’s special teams were all over the place, allowing a Desmond King punt return for a touchdown and missing a field goal but redeemed themselves with a blocked kick and the game icing field goal.

They made it closer than it needed to be but still did some good.

Coaching: B

Denver’s staff overcame some key defensive injuries and found a way to beat a more talented team on the road. A bigger testament to the staff was how ready some of the more unproven members of the team were on the day.

Vic Fangio showed a ton of guts calling an all-out blitz on final third down for the Chargers and really locked down LA’s attack.

Rich Scangarello‘s game plan worked nicely, manufacturing just enough big plays to win and establishing the run despite getting manhandled at times in the trenches.