Bengals QB Joe Burrow is Broncos' True Achilles Heel, per PFF

Every fan has that one player they don't want their team to face. For the Denver Broncos, that player was former Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs for the longest time.

Jacobs may have been one of Broncos Country's most feared individual opponents, but based on Pro Football Focus' grades, the highest-graded player Denver has played against since 2020 is actually a quarterback, and it's not Patrick Mahomes.

PFF's Dalton Wasserman highlighted the highest-graded player each team has faced since 2020, and found that Jacobs wasn’t that player for the Broncos. Instead, it was Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, even though he only has two games against the Broncos over that span. 

“Burrow has played Denver twice in his career, and he did well in both outings. The first matchup was a low-scoring affair in which Burrow recorded a solid 78.8 PFF overall grade. The second game was one of the best contests of the 2024 season," Wasserman wrote. "The Bengals were victorious as Burrow outdueled Bo Nix to the tune of 412 passing yards, three touchdowns and a 93.6 PFF overall grade that currently stands as the best single-game grade of Burrow’s career.”

Every Broncos fan remembers the 2024 Week 17 game, not only due to its recency but also because of how Burrow achieved that level of production. It's safe to say that the Broncos selected Jahdae Barron with the 20th overall pick largely because of how this game went.

In the wake of the collapse of the Broncos' passing defense, Riley Moss was rushed back from injury. Burrow picked on Moss from start to finish and attacked the weak spot of Ja’Quan McMillian. 

That game did a lot of heavy lifting for Burrow to be the highest-graded player against the Broncos, and it was an excellent, signature performance. It's one of those games that raised concerns about the Broncos' defense because, despite the unit being great last year, it struggled against better quarterbacks, and Burrow was one of the few who managed to succeed vs. Denver. 

The Broncos will be test how good their roster additions have been relatively early in the season, with Burrow and the Bengals coming to Denver for a tilt on Monday Night Football in Week 4. That game will have big AFC playoff implications.

The San Francisco 49ers join the Broncos as the teams against which Burrow is the highest graded. Unfortunately, no current Broncos are the highest graded player against another team, but two former Broncos are.

Russell Wilson was the highest-graded player against the Miami Dolphins, with the dreaded 2023 game being Wilsons' highest passing grade as a Bronco. He had only played two games against the Dolphins since 2020, and one of those games was when he was still with the Seattle Seahawks. 

The other former Bronco is Bradley Chubb, who was the highest-graded player against the New York Jets. Chubb has played four games against the Jets, and it didn’t matter what jersey he was wearing.

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Chubb has managed to find ways to get the job done against the Jets. Hopefully, some current Broncos will appear on a list like this in the future, as they have a bright future with some young talent.