Offense — C
The Broncos squandered a couple of opportunities early and settled for field goals in the red zone, but thanks to their defense and a hapless opponent, they had plenty of time to find their stride. As it has most of the year, Denver’s run game produced efficient results. Unlike much of the season, coach Sean Payton actually had the scoreboard and the inclination to stick with it. An 18-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to Courtland Sutton put a nice bow on his best outing of the season: six catches for 76 yards and the score. Denver didn’t do a ton in the second half after that, but ran the ball well enough to get into range for a go-ahead field goal and avoided the big mistake. Play turnover-free football and you’ve got a chance to win this type of game.
Defense — C
It started off so well on Sunday for the Broncos defense against Green Bay. They put together a solid outing against Kansas City in Week 6 and then yielded very little to the Packers through two-plus quarters. In fact, Green Bay didn’t even get on the board until an Anders Carlson field goal in the third quarter. But then … well, it got ugly in the second half. Denver gave up 17 points, even fell behind briefly, after a dominant opening 30 minutes. But they came through with a stop when they really needed one. It came in the form of a P.J. Locke interception with 1:40 remaining. Not pretty, but enough.
Special teams — A
Wil Lutz had a tough debut for the Broncos in Week 1, but he’s been rock solid since. The Denver kicker, whom Sean Payton traded for after the pair was together in New Orleans, knocked in three field goals in the first half Sunday to run his streak to 10 straight makes. He was just getting started. The veteran drilled a 52-yarder with 3:50 to go to put Denver up 19-17. Just a heck of an outing on an afternoon when the Broncos needed it. Elsewhere, a game featuring two of football’s most exciting return men — Denver rookie Marvin Mims Jr. and Green Bay’s Keisean Nixon — didn’t feature much action as returns are rarer than ever in the NFL.
Coaching — C
Life in the NFL is about thin margins. A fine line between a groove and a rut, as Sean Payton said in the leadup to this matchup. This was one of those games that would have felt like a terrible loss and instead goes as a modest win. But a win nonetheless. The Broncos did just enough to get the job done on both sides of the ball. It will feel more like hope’s alive if they can get Kansas City next week, but that’s not possible without winning this one first. Denver nearly made a couple of major mistakes, including having 10 men on the field for a red zone play in the second half. But it didn’t end up costing them the big price.
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