Denver Broncos: Grading week one game versus New York
Denver Broncos Offense grade, A-
Ever since Peyton Manning left the offense has left a lot to be desired. It seems it all falls back on the quarterback position. The revolving door continued this year with a new starting quarterback; however, in week one it kicked off resoundingly.
Teddy Bridgewater at least for one week showed he can be a capable quarterback. The New York Giants defensive line is no slouch and they made their presence felt throughout the game. This caused Bridgewater at times to evade pressure with athleticism surprising many in Broncos Country. Bridgewater’s mobility was probably one of the most impressive parts of Sunday’s game.
The mainstay for Bridgewater was his accuracy and efficiency. At one point in the game, he only had three incompletions putting his completion percentage close to 90 percent. A ridiculous number for any quarterback in today’s NFL.
With the number of weapons Denver has, the quarterback does not need to show that he has to be the focal point of the offense, but rather a point guard. Also, Bridgewater’s calming presence and leadership qualities have helped this team on Sunday to be a calm in the storm.
Speaking of the defensive line from the New York Giants, the Denver Broncos offensive line did about as good of a job as you could ask for upfront. In talking with Dalton Risner, he mentioned they thought they did a heck of a job against the pass rush of the Giants. Risner even commended their pass rush. Dexter Lawrence certainly had his way, but in the grand scheme of things, it was pretty good work.
The only area where it needs work is the rushing game. Despite a huge run by Melvin Gordon and occasional runs by both Gordon and Javonte Williams, the rushing attack was okay. This of course has a factor. As mentioned earlier, the defensive line of the Giants is one of the most underrated fronts in the NFL and Patrick Graham is a phenomenal defensive coordinator.
In the grand scheme of things, the only that affected this grade from being a full A is the consistency of the running game. Nonetheless, for a first week, Denver player exceptionally well for a team that people doubted and for defense as underrated in the Giants.
They played about as well as you could have asked for.
The only change would be to see more Andrew Beck. It was a curious decision to sit Beck against the Giants. We will see if that continues, but the Broncos exceeded expectations in week one offensively.