Broncos Report Card: All-around disappointing performance in loss to Baltimore

Offense -- F The Broncos were held to 254 yards and that included Javonte Williams’ 31-yard carry-the-entire-Ravens-defense-down-the-field rushing gain and receiver Courtland Sutton’s 32-yard catch. Other than that, not much. They stunk on third down (3 of 14), had multiple breakdowns in pass protection (five sacks allowed) and even when they trailed by only 10 points, the deficit felt much larger. In their first opportunity to play from behind, the Broncos didn’t produce much of a buzz. And now there are more injuries. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater left at halftime with a concussion and Drew Lock was 12 of 21 for 113 yards and a garbage time interception. Not good enough in any aspect. Defense — C As outside linebacker Von Miller said post-game, the Broncos allowed 100-plus yards rushing (102), 300-plus yards passing (316) and didn’t produce a takeaway. Teams like the Broncos, who lean on their defense to make plays, aren’t going to win many games with those statistics. The 49-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown happened when safety Justin Simmons got turned around downfield. Once Lamar Jackson discovered tight end Mark Andrews in the second quarter, the Broncos had few answers. Rookie cornerback Pat Surtain II had a tough day in coverage until he left with a rib injury. A bright spot was rookie safety Caden Sterns, who had two sacks. Special teams — D Another sub-par day for the Broncos’ special teams. Let us count the mistakes. A net punt by Sam Martin of 39 yards that put the Ravens at their 40 (touchdown). A 42-yard punt return allowed when a bunch of Broncos took bad angles or over-ran the returner. And a 28-yard punt by Martin that gave the Ravens enough field position to kick a field goal as the first half expired. It feels like it’s something every game. Returner Diontae Spencer (chest) was injured playing receiver on a hit by safety Chuck Clark that should have penalized. Kendall Hinton stepped in on returns. Martin had a whopping 10 punts (38.7-yard average). Coaching — D Coach/defensive play-caller Vic Fangio dialed up some unique pressures to help sack Lamar Jackson three times and force him out the pocket for incompletions on several other plays. The emphasis of putting the inside linebackers close to the line of scrimmage to the play the run semi-paid off because Jackson carried for only 28 yards on seven carries and the Ravens’ longest rush was 11 yards. But the offense, yikes. They started the game throwing a blizzard of personnel groupings at Baltimore, which was fine. But going 3 of 14 falls on suspect game-planning on first and second downs.