Broncos vs. Giants grades: Denver’s fourth-quarter rally saves day

The Broncos scored 33 points in the fourth quarter on Sunday to beat the New York Giants 33-32 at Empower Field at Mile High.

Here are the grades from the comeback win.

Offense

How do you grade an offense that was shut out for three quarters but scored 33 points in the fourth to win? The first three quarters were failing, while the fourth quarter was outstanding. Quarterback Bo Nix struggled early but once again came up big when needed. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for another two in the fourth quarter. Marvin Mims and Courtland Sutton had over 80 yards receiving. Can the Broncos figure it out early in the game next week?

Grade: C

Defense

A strange day for the Denver defense as it gave up 32 points and was gashed at times, but also made big plays when needed. The biggest play was the Justin Strnad interception that helped the Broncos cut the lead to 26-23. Then the defense made another big stop to get the ball back to the offense. But rookie Jaxson Dart did make some big throws and finished the day with 283 yards. He was sacked four times in the loss.

Grade: B

Special teams

Wil Lutz hit the biggest kick of the game as he drilled a 39-yard field goal as time expired. Punter Jeremy Crawshaw was the busiest player on the team for most of the game with six punts and two downed inside the 20.

Grade: A

Coaching

Some bad penalties could have cost the Broncos this game. Leading 30-26, the Broncos committed three penalties: a roughing the passer on John Franklin-Myers, a pass interference call on Riley Moss, and a personal foul on coach Sean Payton, which set the Giants up to score what they thought was the winning touchdown. Play-calling in the first half was suspect again as well but Payton kept the guys engaged, and it ended in a win.

Grade: C


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