Make it five straight wins for the Denver Broncos! Fresh off their wild comeback against the New York Giants, Denver proved it was no fluke, dominating on both sides of the ball against the Dallas Cowboys. Pro Football Focus (PFF) released its Week 8 player grades, highlighting the best and worst individual performances.

Offense

Best

  • OL Quinn Meinerz: 92.2
  • QB Bo Nix: 87.2
  • RB J.K. Dobbins: 83.8
  • WR Troy Franklin: 76.9
  • TE Evan Engram: 76.7

Denver’s offensive dominance was on full display, reflected in the PFF grades across every position group. Nix tossed four touchdowns, Dobbins gashed the defense for 111 yards at 7.4 yards per carry, Franklin hauled in two scores, while Engram caught all four of his targets and earned strong marks as a blocker. Meinerz anchored the line with a bullying performance up front, including leveling three Cowboys on rookie RJ Harvey’s touchdown run.

Worst

  • FB Adam Prentice: 42.1
  • TE/FB Nate Adkins: 43.6
  • TE Adam Trautman: 49.6
  • OL Alex Palczewski: 49.9
  • WR Marvin Mims Jr.: 49.9

It was anything but a festive National Tight Ends Day for Denver’s group—aside from Engram. While both Adkins and Trautman earned respectable blocking grades, their performances in the passing game left much to be desired. Adkins, in particular, had a costly drop in the end zone.

Defense

Best

  • CB Jahdae Barron: 90.2
  • LB Alex Singleton: 88.6
  • DL D.J. Jones: 86.0
  • OLB Jonathon Cooper: 74.1
  • CB Pat Surtain II: 70.8

There were a few unexpected standouts on defense this week. Barron snagged his first career interception late in the first half, helping the Broncos preserve their two-score lead. Singleton, who’s often landed on the opposite end of this list this season, delivered one of his strongest performances on Sunday. Per PFF, he recorded six tackles and four stops, and was instrumental in the (should-have-been) fumble recovery by DJ Jones.

Worst

  • DL Malcolm Roach: 27.7
  • DL John Franklin-Myers: 39.3
  • DL Zach Allen: 48.4
  • CB Kris Abrams-Draine: 53.8
  • CB Ja’Quan McMillian: 59.2

An all-too-common occurrence is the puzzling low grading of Allen since he joined the Broncos in 2023. According to PFF, against the Cowboys, he had a sack, three quarterback hits, a hurry, and a stop. Despite receiving high marks for tackling (66.8) and pressure (73.3), they graded him lowest at defending the run (29.5).

Special Teams

  • ST JL Skinner: 80.6
  • KR Marvin Mims Jr.: 72.9
  • LS Mitchell Fraboni: 59.3
  • P Jeremy Crawshaw: 60.1
  • K Wil Lutz: 67.2 (FG) 52.0 (KO)

Although PFF scored him lower on offense, Mims Jr. earned strong special teams grades thanks to his standout kickoff returns, which included one for 46 yards.

The Denver Broncos aim to hold onto their top spot in the AFC West this weekend as they head to Houston to take on the Texans. Kickoff is set for Sunday at 11:00 a.m. MST.