The story people are going to want you to read after the Broncos’ week one win against the Baltimore Ravens doesn’t include the content it should. Most people are going to want to talk about Peyton Manning and the struggles of the offense, but everyone should be talking about how dominant the Denver defense was from start to finish in this game, and just how good they are going to be as the season goes along.
DeMarcus Ware was off the charts
As far as Pro Football Focus grading goes (I know it’s not the end-all, be-all), Ware was absolutely incredible. His grade of +10.9 was better than all but four other NFL teams accumulated defensively in week one of the NFL season. Ware had 11 disrupted plays, nearly had a strip-sack of Joe Flacco, and finished with 7 hurries, 3 QB hits, and a sack.
It was a sight to behold.
The other pass rushers weren’t bad either
Joining Ware on PFF’s week one All-NFL squad was Von Miller, who had a final grade of +6.5. He finished the game with 4 hurries of Flacco and 2 hits, but it felt like he was around the quarterback every single time he dropped back.
Miller and Ware look like they’ve been shot out of a cannon, and as the commentators Jim Nantz and Phil Simms pointed out during the game, the pass rush was just as effective when they came off the field too.
Shaquil Barrett was among the Broncos’ best performers in this game, posting a +3.6 grade with two ‘stops’ or plays that constitute an offensive failure. He continued to build off of a really strong preseason and looks fantastic.
The Broncos had an overall pass rush grade of +23.4 with 19 hurries, 5 hits, and 2 sacks.
Brandon Marshall is a monster
The Broncos have, pretty much inarguably, had the best two Brandon Marshalls to play in the NFL on their roster at some point or another. The linebacker they have right now is sneaky dominant and one of the best players in the NFL at his position.
He finished this game with an incredible line of 7 tackles, 3 TFL, a sack, a pass breakup, and 5 stops (PFF stat).
It was an impressive debut for Marshall, who looks better than he did last year when he earned an All-Pro vote.
Trevathan is a tackling machine…still.
Danny Trevathan led the Broncos with 9 tackles on the day, and provided some of the game’s hardest hits as well as some nice play in coverage. He didn’t play as many snaps as Brandon Marshall did, but it’s clear the Broncos have a phenomenal duo in these two and having Trevathan back is a huge advantage for the Broncos’ defense.
Secondary was balling
The Broncos’ secondary is sick, and it’s only going to get better with T.J. Ward coming off of his one-game suspension. The physical nature with which these guys all play is already impressive, but it was great to see guys like Aqib Talib building off of his phenomenal training camp and Chris Harris Jr. not letting anyone make any noise whatsoever.
Guys like Bradley Roby got in the mix, making one of the biggest plays of the game and ever so slightly re-directing a pass from Joe Flacco that would have hit Steve Smith right between the numbers. Roby jumped up, tipped the ball, and impacted the trajectory just enough to cause Smith to lose focus and drop the pass.
David Bruton Jr. and Darian Stewart combined to make probably one of the biggest plays of the young season when Bruton diagnosed a throw to Ravens TE Crockett Gillmore, got his hand up in the passing lane, and knocked the ball out of Gillmore’s hands and into the waiting hands of Stewart, who made an incredible play against his former team.
With a combined +10.4 grade, the group including Talib, Harris, Stewart, and Roby was absolutely outstanding.
Other thoughts
– The Broncos allowed just two third down conversions all game in 13 attempts for the Ravens.
– Aqib Talib’s INT for a touchdown was the 7th of his career, and the most among NFL players since 2009. His 28 interceptions from 2008-present are the 2nd most behind Asante Samuel’s 29
– The Broncos allowed 1.8 yards per rush on 1st down, which allowed the defense to pin its ears back all game
– 36 of Baltimore’s 57 offensive plays went for 3 yards or less
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