The winning streak is over.
The Broncos fought back from a pair of 13-point deficits against the Houston Texans on Sunday but were never able to get over the hump in a 22-17 loss. They drove down the field in the final minutes, but could not punch the ball into the end zone.
Here’s how the Broncos graded out…
Click here for the defensive grades.
Quarterbacks
Russell Wilson: D+ — Wilson did not have a good day on Sunday. He threw three or more interceptions for the sixth time in his career. He’s only thrown more than three once, back in 2016.
The first interception was tipped at the line but was an otherwise good play. It was Wilson’s eighth batted pass of the season, which ties him for the sixth-most in the NFL with four other quarterbacks.
The second interception wasn’t a great read on a deep post, but I give a lot of credit to the defensive back for covering as much ground as he did to pick the ball off.
The third interception was a bad decision that ended the game. Wilson did well to dodge what would have been a game-ending sack, but panicked and made a bad throw. It’s tough to throw the ball away on third down with the game on the line, but that obviously would have been the right decision.
Interceptions come on a spectrum of bad luck to bad play, and Wilson had one on each end of the spectrum and one right in the middle.
The Broncos opened up their passing attack, tying a season high with eight pass attempts that traveled at least 20 yards downfield. The results weren’t spectacular. Wilson hit Sutton twice downfield, once for a 45-yard touchdown on a corner route and once on a 32-yard post. He also found Jerry Jeudy open along the sideline, which set the Broncos up one yard from the goal line.
But the rest of the throws were flawed. One was to Sutton in double-coverage. Another was to Marvin Mims, who had a step on a defender, but Wilson was late letting go and didn’t have the arm to lead Mims from 60 yards out. Another was the second interception.
Wilson was sharp on the short throws. He was 12-of-13 on passes to receivers less than 10 yards downfield, and the only miss was the tipped interception.
Wilson was also solid as a runner, picking up 44 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Running Backs
Javonte Williams: B+ — When the Broncos needed to convert a 4th & 1 in the final minutes of the game, they handed the ball to Williams. He was stopped at the line of scrimmage… but carried a defender to the sticks. How many backs make that play?
Williams finished with 46 yards on 13 carries and another 24 yards through the air. He also continued a trend of less-than-stellar performances in pass protection, getting plowed to the ground at one point in the second quarter.
Samaje Perine: B — Perine didn’t give up a game-sealing scoop-and-score, but he came way too close. That doesn’t hurt his grade. His best play was a drawn pass interference on a third down on the final drive.
Michael Burton: B — Burton found himself in the stat sheet for the first time since the first game of the Broncos’ win streak on Sunday. His lone touch was a four-yard fullback dive on 2nd & 1.
Tight Ends
Adam Trautman: C+ — Trautman’s role decreased this week. The Broncos chose Lucas Krull in clear passing situations. As a result, Trautman only played 38 snaps, which only trails his 36 snaps at Kansas City as the fewest of his season.
Trautman finished with one catch for six yards.
Lucas Krull: C- — Obviously, I’m not going to blame Krull for the game-ending interception. That would be crazy. But I do think he had a chance to get the ball away from the defensive back. Krull had a good pull block in space on a toss in the third quarter.
Wide Receivers
Courtland Sutton: B- — Both of Sutton’s catches were massively impactful plays. The first was a 45-yard touchdown catch on a deep corner route. The second was a 32-yard catch on a deep post to start the Broncos’ final drive.
But five balls thrown Sutton’s way hit the ground. Most were extremely difficult plays, but one was a perfectly thrown post that hit his hands deep downfield on the second play of the game. A catch there could have changed the game. If Sutton had fought harder through the defender on a ball up the sideline in the second quarter, he probably would have drawn a pass interference, too. If anything, this grade might be a little too generous.
Jerry Jeudy: B — The out-and-up for 41 yards was a crucial play in the Broncos’ comeback. Jeudy had been open deep on a couple of occasions, but both would have taken close to four seconds of protection to complete. If he’d played with the Texans’ offensive line on Sunday, he might have had a monster day.
Jeudy finished with 51 yards on three catches.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey: C- — Humphrey’s only catch was a 12-yarder on a play-action bootleg. Humphrey was generally solid as a blocker, but he missed a block and gave up a tackle for loss late in the second quarter.
Marvin Mims: C — Mims almost made a massive play, when Russell Wilson launched a ball downfield for what could have been a 50-yard score. But Wilson didn’t quite have the muscle to hit Mims in stride—the ball flew 58 yards in the air—and a defender broke the pass up. It should have been pass interference.
Instead of giving the Broncos an early explosive play, Mims wound up with a pedestrian outing. He made the most of his two touches, an eight-yard jet sweep and a five-yard screen.
Offensive Linemen
Garett Bolles: D+ — Bolles gave up the pressure that Russell Wilson barely escaped before he threw the game-ending interception. Bolles’ man wound up with a third-down sack in the third quarter, but pressure from the other side of the line made the quarterback flush right into the defender.
The Texans’ plan all game was to collapse the pocket. They were far more successful on the right side of the Broncos’ line than the left, but Bolles could’ve held his ground better.
Ben Powers: C+ — Powers didn’t give up any notable pressures, but he was pushed back a little too easily too often. He and Bolles misplayed a stunt and both rushers got through. The Broncos pulled him a couple of times and he got his job done, even if it wasn’t pretty. There weren’t any real highlights.
Lloyd Cushenberry: C+ — Cushenberry made a nice block on a screen, and generally played well in space. Like most of the Broncos’ offensive line, he lacked an anchor too often.
Quinn Meinerz: C+ — Meinerz and McGlinchey misplayed a couple of stunts, allowing rushers into the backfield. McGlinchey was more at fault, and Meinerz pancaked a defender on one of them, but both linemen bare some blame.
Meinerz made a couple of strong plays as always—he helped with a double-team then popped a linebacker to create space for a four-yard fullback dive; the Broncos scored a touchdown on a QB sneak behind him—but he may have had his worst game of the season on Sunday.
Mike McGlinchey: D- — Rookie edge rusher Will Anderson had a breakout day at the expense of McGlinchey. The third overall pick only had three sacks this season before Sunday, but he gained two more against the Broncos. Even when Anderson wasn’t getting by McGlinchey, he was knocking him backward and collapsing the pocket.
McGlinchey had a couple of moments in the running game, but they don’t come close to covering up a rough outing in pass protection.
