In Focus is a weekly piece we do at Mile High Report where we highlight the good and bad grades and notes that are made available by the people at Pro Football Focus. So let's take a look at how they graded the Denver Broncos players after their loss to the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday.
Key grades and notes from the Bills win over the Broncoshttps://t.co/8R3cDkmfqc pic.twitter.com/PvCuxOAxCq
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) September 24, 2017
The Good
Offensive tackle, Garett Bolles: 84.7 overall grade
The big news entering the game on Sunday was the availability of rookie offensive tackle Garett Bolles. If you remember, he was carted off the field against the Dallas Cowboys just a week prior. He looked emotional and the Broncos feared the worst. Thankfully, Bolles just had a bone bruise and only missed one practice during the week. He also was active and started for the Broncos and ended up being their highest graded player on Sunday.
Rookie tackle Bolles was a bright spot for Denver. Bolles surroundered only one charged pressure while doing fine work in run blocking. Bolles excels at double team blocks and he managed to open up some pathways for the Broncos running game.
Bolles recorded an 84.7 overall grade, 83.1 pass block grade, and 83.9 run block grade. He also only allowed one pressure (QB hit) on 46 pass block snaps against the Bills on Sunday.
I had my doubts about Bolles being a first-round pick back in April, but so far, he’s proving to be an upgrade over Russell Okung who the Broncos let walk in free agency. If he keeps this up, the Broncos have a damn good left tackle for the next several years.
Edge Rusher, Von Miller: 84.2 overall grade
Von Miller started off the game strong with a sack during their first defensive snap of the ball game but did not record another sack during the rest of the game per PFF.
He only had five pressures on Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor throughout the rest of the game, and those were because he was unblocked as part of their scheme.
After posting a sack on the first offensive play of the game, Miller actually had a mild day on the pass-rush by his standards, as several of his five remaining pressures for the game were unblocked due to scheme. However, he was extremely effective on runs, as he notched four run stops, second-best on the afternoon for the Broncos.
Von posted an 84.2 overall grade, 82.8 pass rush grade, and 79.7 run defense grade. Miller had six total pressures (1 sack, 1 QB hit, 4 hurries) on only 28 pass rush snaps. Von also posted 2 stops in the run game on Sunday as well.
He was a reason why the Broncos contained Buffalo Bills elusive and very talented running back LeSean McCoy. The Broncos defensive continues to be stingy against the run game after struggling there in 2016.
Inside Linebacker, Todd Davis: 82.1 overall grade
There’s one thing Broncos inside linebacker Todd Davis is good at, and that is stopping the run. This continued on Sunday when he had the highest run stopping grade of all of the Broncos on Sunday.
It was Todd Davis who led the Broncos in total defensive stops with six, and he also managed to notch a sack. Not surprisingly, his 87.8 run defense grade also led Denver’s efforts.
Per Pro Football Focus, Davis posted an 83.2 overall grade, which was fueled by an 87.8 run defense grade. He also posted 4 run stops on only 23 run defense snaps and also added two more stops in the passing game. It was a good overall game for the Broncos young inside linebacker.
Davis is another big reason why the Broncos rush defense has been so good during his first three weeks where they held names like Melvin Gordon, Ezekiel Elliott, and LeSean McCoy in check for most of or for the entirety of the game.
Other positive notes per Pro Football Focus:
- Demaryius Thomas posted a solid 77.7 overall grade. His 80.2 receiving grade was fueled by his six receptions for 98 yards. Thomas recorded a catch against five different defenders against the Bills.
- Broncos center Matt Paradis posted an 86.5 pass block grade and did not allow any pressure on 46 pass block snaps.
- Domata Peko had a strong game against the Bills. He posted an 84.9 run defense grade and gave the Bills' interior offensive linemen trouble the whole game.
- Darian Stewart was solid, posting an 80.5 overall grade. He allowed 3 catches on 4 targets, but those receptions only went for 9 total yards. Stewart also posted 3 run stops on 29 run defense snaps.
The Bad
Quarterback, Trevor Siemian: 44.4 overall grade
After looking really good in weeks one and two, Trevor Siemian had one of his roughest games in his career on Sunday. He had no touchdowns after having 7 total in the first two games, was a bit inaccurate, and also threw two costly interceptions in the second half of Sunday’s game.
Wk3 22.5 percent of Trevor Siemian's passes were off target (over/under thrown), 6th highest in the league this week. #Broncos @1043TheFan
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) September 25, 2017
One of Siemian’s better traits has been his poise and play while under pressure. He has been picking apart defenses that dared to blitz him, but that was not the case on Sunday against the Bills.
Siemian finished the game 24-of-40 for 259 yards against Buffalo, as he was sacked three times and threw two costly interceptions. When under pressure, he finished 2-of-8 for 28 yards and an interception for a passer rating of 2.9 under duress.
Siemian was only 2 for 8 for 28 yards, an interception, and an awful 2.9 quarterback rating when pressured on Sunday. That’s not good at all, and a tad uncharacteristic for Trevor Siemian.
Per Pro Football Focus, Siemian really struggled against the Bills. He had the two interceptions, a 44.4 grade and was blamed for the 3 sacks he took as well as one pressure. He entered the game with a 106.9 passer rating but only posted a 58.2 mark today.
Siemian’s play to start the season was impressive and had fans and even some media discussing whether or not he should receive an extension. Unfortunately, a game like this will quiet that all down and makes you wonder which Trevor Siemian we will see against the division rival Oakland Raiders next weekend. The one that picked apart the Dallas Cowboys, or the one that really struggled against the Buffalo Bills?
Other negative notes per Pro Football Focus:
- Starting right guard Ronald Leary was strong in pass protection, posting an 85.4 pass block grade and only allowing one QB hurry on 46 pass blocking snaps. His run blocking grade really brought down his overall grade though, finishing with a 32.5 run block grade.
- Inside linebacker Brandon Marshall allowed all 5 passes thrown his way to be caught for 59 yards. He also missed a tackle in the run game.