OFFENSE — A
Rookie quarterback Bo Nix was on a heater from the start Sunday afternoon. He threw touchdowns to Nate Adkins, Marvin Mims Jr. and Troy Franklin. He diced up the Falcons on third down and in general. He led a Denver offense that scored on five of its first seven possessions and barely broke stride. The Broncos controlled the game start to finish and Nix made a play whenever Denver needed one. Impressive stuff from the budding rookie of the year candidate. The young skill guys keep coming along, too, but this one featured a heavy dose of veterans Courtland Sutton and Javonte Williams.
DEFENSE — A
Vance Joseph’s group knew they had a big challenge on their hands with Atlanta’s balanced offense and it did terrific work overall. The Falcons averaged 153 rushing yards per game over their past five but had 13 carries for 35 yards midway through the fourth quarter. QB Kirk Cousins and company moved the ball early in the game but Denver stood tall in the red zone, forced two field goals and didn’t allow a touchdown. Nik Bonitto racked up his eighth sack, Cody Barton picked off Cousins early in the second half and the group played rock solid even without its leading tackler, safety Brandon Jones (abdomen).
SPECIAL TEAMS — A-
A week after a game-deciding blunder and five days after the departure of senior assistant Mike Westhoff, the Broncos special teams unit was back to looking like its normal, strong self. The place-kicking unit turned in a quality day, easily knocking home five extra points and a 45-yard Wil Lutz field goal. Marvin Mims Jr., meanwhile, got loose for a 37-yard punt return and had his best day of the season overall. Riley Dixon downed another punt inside the 10-yard line. All in all, a really good day at the office after a very bad one a week ago.
COACHING — A
Sean Payton rolled out maybe his prettiest offensive script of the season, which finished with a saucy design to get Nate Adkins wide-open for a touchdown. He won a challenge on a spot that resulted in a first down, too. More than that, though, Payton and the coaching staff had Denver more than ready to play a week after a brutal loss. Payton threw the chips down in the immediate aftermath of that 16-14 defeat at Arrowhead and said he thought he had the team to bounce back and persevere. He was right. Now Denver is looking at a stretch where it’s likely to be favored the next three games and has a chance to make a real run.
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