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The Denver Broncos now sit atop the AFC West with a 64% chance of winning the division after yet another fourth-quarter comeback victory, this time against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Had the Broncos lost this one, their chances of winning the division would have dropped to 30%, so this game was a must-win, even if Sean Payton stopped short of calling it that last week. His boldness and aggression against the Chiefs reflected the importance of the game, as the Broncos came out on top 28-24 and Payton earned the 200th victory of his career, reaching that impressive milestone the sixth-fastest in NFL history.
While the Broncos' defense allowed some explosive plays, the unit actually played well overall, and so did the offense, except in the third quarter. There were a lot of high grades this week, though a few players still ended up below the starting grade of 50.
With that said, let's dive into Week 8's player grades.
Bolles played a great game and didn't allow a single pressure. That makes three games this year where he hasn't given up any pressure, and makes him the only left tackle to have achieved that so far this year.
Bolles continues to play at an All-Pro level and was a key part of the Broncos' offensive line producing its best game by far, with the lowest-graded blocker being right guard Quinn Meinerz (64.4).
Surtain was back after missing a few weeks and was only targeted twice, allowing one catch for eight yards. He was a shutdown corner in the truest form.
Surtain also played a great game against the run and helped shut down a few attempts for minimal gains.
This was a solid game from Nix, though there were a lot of yards left on the field due to some serious ball placement issues. However, he wasn't afraid to push the ball, was quick and decisive with his throws, and didn't bail on a clean pocket.
Nix looks like he is getting back to his late-season form before his injury, which could push Denver back into the Super Bowl conversation.
Waddle didn't have a huge game with three catches for 39 yards, but his 35-yard reception was a big play for the offense. He also showed how much of a difference he makes even when he isn't being targeted, based on how the Chiefs were covering him.
There's a reason why Payton has plans for Waddle's role to continue growing as the season marches ahead.
Robinson has been excellent for Denver and picked up three pressures while doing great against the run. There is a good chance he becomes a quality starter in the future due to his explosive athleticism.
Teams try to pick on Moss, but the Chiefs mostly avoided him with four targets his way. He only allowed two catches for 10 yards, and he broke on one ball, forcing the receiver to break it up to avoid an interception. His tackling and run defense were sound as well.
Jones has continued to show his value as an interior pass rusher, but his run defense has been a question. He not only did well against the run this week, but his high grade was because of his run defense rather than his play as a pass rusher.
This was the first time Jones looked like he could be a starter or the fourth player on the unit, instead of the fifth or sixth.
Not only did Powers do well in the run game — he was great — and he held up well in pass protection. Powers didn't allow a single pressure against the Chiefs and put together one of the best games of his Broncos career, by far.
Whenever Adkins has been on the field, he's been consistent and reliable, both as a receiver and as a blocker. He's not a tell when he's on the field, thanks to his versatility, which the Broncos have exploited well this season.
The only question is why Adkins isn't seeing the field more, as he has been far and away the Broncos' best tight end.
With Talanoa Hufanga out again, the Broncos signed Rapp to the 53-man roster ahead of this game, using him and Devon Key to replace Hufanga. Alas, Rapp really struggled against the Chiefs and was at fault for more than one explosive play.
Strnad has been playing at a high level for most of the season, but the Chiefs had his number on a couple of big plays. On one such play, he got stiff-armed into the turf, while on another explosive run, he struggled to wrap up with good technique.
Bonitto struggled against the run and failed to generate much pressure (only two). He also got caught in a broken-coverage situation that resulted in a 73-yard touchdown by Emmett Johnson. It was a rough game all around for the pass rusher.
With two targets and zero catches, Engram had another quiet day. He has not lived up to expectations as the ‘joker’ tight end for Payton, and his blocking remains a liability. It's time to limit his snaps even more.
Mims's effort was once again questionable whenever the play wasn't designed to get him the ball, especially as a route-runner. Sure, he can generate explosives for the offense, as evidenced by his 14-yard run, but he needs to show consistent effort to get more utilization.
If Mims doesn't run every route with 100% effort, it eliminates a potential target from the passing equation, making it harder on Nix to move the chains.
Trautman's blocking wasn't all bad, but he only had two good blocks on 14 run-block snaps. Adkins only had 13 run-block snaps, but nine of his blocks were positively graded.
What saves Trautman’s grade was his one long catch, though it wasn't really a great play by him. Again, it's time to give Adkins an increased role, and it should be at Trautman's expense.
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