Denver Broncos: Week 12 Position Grades

Linebackers Grade: B+

Brandon Marshall deserves a gold medal for playing on a hurt hamstring and doing it quite well. Marshall’s presence in filling now-Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan’s old role is tremendous. It is nothing short of amazing to see him play every down and cover the league’s best tight end. Todd Davis competed in maybe his better game of the year. His run defense was better, but is suspect overall on the season. Do I think Davis is the long-term answer at linebacker? No. However, he played decent Sunday.

In case you are wondering or living under a rock for the better part of five years, Von Miller is the best pure pass rushing linebacker in the NFL. Since DeMarcus Ware’s presence a couple years back, Miller is adding another feature to his disruptive game: pass coverage. This moves Miller in a category all by himself as the best defensive player in football. He made plays against the Chiefs in the open field in coverage, which no pass rush linebacker can do. He would total 3.0 sacks in the game matching Justin Houston’s total, but the Chiefs came out on top.

Generally, the Broncos played well at the linebacker position to earn “B+” grade, but Miller spoke after the game placing the blame on the defense as a whole that let them down. This is what to expect from a leader.