Tag: Quinn Meinerz

Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz delivered huge blocks vs. Falcons

Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz dominated the Falcons on Sunday.

Denver Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz is a beast.

The 2023 Pro Bowl alternate continues turning heads as he delivers pancake blocks on a near-weekly basis with the Broncos.

Meinerz played a role in running back Javonte Williams’ team-effort touchdown run, and he also delivered two big blocks against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

In the third quarter, Meinerz blocked Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss down field, then he turned his attention toward lighting up Atlanta safety Jessie Bates. Those blocks helped wide receiver Troy Franklin score on a screen play to extend the lead to 28-6.

Here’s the play, courtesy of the team’s official Twitter/X page. Meinerz is the right guard, No. 77:

Meinerz delivered another pancake block on linebacker Nate Landman on a different screen pass:

Former NFL offensive lineman AQ Shipley reacted to Meinerz’s big block on Twitter/X:

Meinerz (6-3, 320 pounds) has clearly established himself as one of the best guards in the NFL, and he should earn his first career Pro Bowl nod this fall.

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Javonte Williams had a great reaction to being pushed into end zone by teammates

“The cavalry came,” Broncos RB Javonte Williams said of being pushed into the end zone. He knew Quinn Meinerz was involved.

In the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams met Falcons safety Justin Simmons at about the five-yard line and was stood up.

Williams kept his legs moving and teammates soon arrived to help push him into the end zone for a touchdown.

“They just seen me and J-Sim one-on-one kind of at a stalemate and after that, the cavalry came,” Williams said of the play after the game.

Williams was picked up by his teammates and escorted into the end zone.

“I was in the air,” Williams said after the game. “That was all the o-line. From like the five-yard line on, that was all the o-line because my feet were in the air. So all the credit to them.”

After an eventual 38-6 victory, guard Quinn Meinerz detailed how pushing the pile dates back to his time in college.

“Pushing the pile, I’m going to give a shout-out to my offensive line coach at [Wisconsin-] Whitewater, Coach Brent Allen,” Meinerz said. “That was something that was instilled in us as Whitewater offensive linemen that — it was push the pile every time. Get to the pile, push the pile. We had tons of plays like that in college.”

Denver’s social media team had Williams break down the play after the game:

Williams knew Meinerz was involved during the play.

“Yeah, when my feet came out the ground and I was still moving, I said, it must be Quinn and somebody, because I know Quinn is going to be the one push,” Williams said.

Williams ended the day with nine carries for 59 yards and one touchdown. He also added four receptions for 28 yards as the Broncos improved to 6-5 with a convincing victory at home.

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Broncos PFF grades: Best, worst players from win over Falcons

Nik Bonitto (90.0) was the Broncos’ best player vs. the Falcons, followed by Quinn Meinerz (92.1) and Bo Nix (83.3). View more PFF grades.

Following the Denver Broncos‘ 38-6 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Pro Football Focus has released grades for each player’s Week 11 performance.

PFF grades players on a 0 (worst) to 100 (best) scale. Check out the best and worst of Week 11 below.

Best Offensive Players 

  • G Quinn Meinerz: 92.1
  • QB Bo Nix: 83.3
  • OT Mike McGlinchey: 77.4
  • WR Devaughn Vele: 75.5
  • RB Javonte Williams: 73.8

Bo Nix had the best game of his career in a record-breaking performance. Denver has also found creative ways to get WR Marvin Mims (73.2) involved, and he ended the day with the sixth-best grade on offense.

Best Defensive Players 

  • OLB Nik Bonitto: 90.0
  • DL John Franklin-Myers: 77.4
  • DB Devon Key: 75.3
  • CB Pat Surtain: 70.1
  • DL Zach Allen: 65.6

Nik Bonitto has now topped his 2023 sack total and he’s just one sack away from the first double-digit sack season of his career. Bonitto’s nine sacks are tied for second-most in the NFL this season.

Worst Offensive Players 

  • G Ben Powers: 51.1
  • RB Jaleel McLaughlin: 54.6
  • C Luke Wattenberg: 59.0
  • TE Adam Trautman: 59.0
  • TE Lucas Krull: 59.3

Tight end needs to be a priority position for the Broncos in the offseason. Tyler Warren would be a dream draft target.

Worst Defensive Players 

  • DL Jordan Jackson: 29.5
  • LB Levelle Bailey: 41.9
  • DL Malcolm Roach: 45.7
  • OLB Jonathon Cooper: 46.3
  • CB Riley Moss: 48.2

The Cooper and Moss grades seem a bit harsh.

Special Teams 

  • ST Devon Key: 86.2
  • LS Mitchell Fraboni: 77.8
  • R Marvin Mims: 61.3
  • K Wil Lutz: 68.0 (FG) 55.2 (KO)
  • P Riley Dixon: 55.9

You can view grades for every player on the paid version of PFF’s website.

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Broncos QB Bo Nix responds to Alex Forsyth backlash: ‘It ticks me off’

“It ticks me off that people can say those things about him and not even see how he works or how he responds or how he plays,” Bo Nix said.

The Denver Broncos suffered a heartbreaking 16-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday after the team’s last-second field goal attempt was blocked.

The Chiefs had identified Broncos lineman Alex Forsyth as being “light on his toes,” making him susceptible to a bullrush. Kansas City rushed three defenders at Forsyth’s spot and ended up blocking the kick to secure the win.

Denver coach Sean Payton has said the loss — and the block — was not the fault of a single player, but that hasn’t stopped fans from lashing out at Forsyth on social media.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had his first media availability of the week on Wednesday and he came to the defense of Forsyth, who played with Nix at Oregon.

“So, I think it’s very unfortunate, very unfair that, ultimately a play comes down to one moment and — something, people can say that it falls under one person and nobody prepares like Alex Forsyth prepares,” Nix said, via Andrew Mason of DenverSports.com. “Nobody goes through the moments throughout the week and gets every set and every look that he possibly can and go out there and put his team in the best possible spot. And I think it’s unfair that — unfortunately, it’s the game we play and all of our mistakes are on national TV and everyone sees them and there’s a lot of negative talk when somebody messes up, but I think it’s — I think it should be known how valuable he is to our team, how much he is respected throughout our locker room.

“It really — it ticks me off that people can say those things about him and not even see how he works or how he responds or how he plays. And I have no doubt that Alex Forsyth’s going to respond probably better than anybody in that situation. He cares more than anybody would in that situation. And I know every single one of our team, every single guy in our locker room believes in him to move on and respond. And what happened to him sucks, it really does. It’s happened to many of us, and you just gotta, unfortunately get over it and you gotta find ways to move past it.

“And he’s mentally tough. He’s been through tougher life moments than probably any of us, and so, he knows how to handle adversity, and I’m excited to see him grow and respond through this. And I can’t imagine as much as he works throughout a week, how much more he’s going to put on himself, but I respect him greatly. I hate that he’s having to go through all this, but sometimes it’s part of the game and it is what we signed up for, but I’m happy to be on his team. I’m proud to call him a teammate, and I know he’s going to respond really well.”

Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles and guard Quinn Meinerz also came to Forsyth’s defense. Bolles said fans shouldn’t pin the game on Forsyth when the offense only scored 14 points.

Meinerz said Forsyth getting blamed was ridiculous.

Former Broncos players have also come to Forsyth’s defense, with ex-lineman Tyler Polumbus and retired tight end Joel Dreessen sticking up for the center on social media.

Forsyth will get his first opportunity to bounce back when the Broncos host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

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Broncos’ 2021 draft class is paying off big time

The Broncos picked Pat Surtain, Quinn Meinerz and Jonathon Cooper in the 2021 NFL draft. They’re now all signed through at least 2028.

The Denver Broncos made 10 picks in the 2021 NFL draft. Half of those players started for the team this season, and at least three of them will remain core players for the foreseeable future.

The Broncos used their first-round pick that year to select cornerback Pat Surtain, who received a four-year, $96 million contract extension in September. The team’s second-round pick was running back Javonte Williams, who remains Denver’s starting RB.

In the third round, the Broncos picked guard Quinn Meinerz, who signed a four-year, $80 million deal in August. In the final round of that draft, Denver picked pass rusher Jonathon Cooper. He received a four-year, $60 million extension earlier this week.

That’s three players at three key positions — cornerback, pass rusher and offensive line — who are now signed through at least the 2028 season. Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix also has a fifth-year option in his contract for 2028.

Building through the draft is the most sustainable way to build a winning roster in the NFL and three years later, Denver’s 2021 class is paying off.

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Ravens vs. Broncos: Top photos from Baltimore’s 41-10 win in Week 9

Top photos from the Baltimore Ravens 41-10 win over the Denver Broncos in Week 9 at M&T Bank Stadium

Denver entered the game 5-3 with the NFL’s third-ranked defense, but the Baltimore offense shredded them, as Vance Joseph’s defense surrendered 396 yards and five touchdowns on the afternoon.

The Ravens are 6-3 after a 41-10 win over the emerging Broncos at M&T Bank Stadium.

Here are the top photos from the win.

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Lamar Jackson finished with perfect passer rating as Ravens demolish Broncos 41-10

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson finished with a perfect passer rating in Week 10 as the Ravens defeated the Broncos 41-10

The Ravens spent all week talking about removing the taste of an ugly loss to the Browns in Week 8. John Harbaugh’s team responded solidly, dominating the upstart Broncos 41-10 at M&T Bank Stadium.

Denver entered the game 5-3 with the NFL’s third-ranked defense, but the Baltimore offense shredded them, as Vance Joseph’s defense surrendered 396 yards and five touchdowns on the afternoon.

With talk about Josh Allen potentially winning MVP, Jackson completed 16 of 19 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday, marking his fourth perfect passer rating.

Derrick Henry finished with 101 yards rushing and two touchdowns, moving past Barry Sanders for 10th on the all-time touchdowns list and going over 1,000 yards for the sixth time in his career.

Zay Flowers had another 100-yard game, finishing with 127 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

On defense, Zach Orr’s unit surrendered 319 yards, including 197 passing and, most importantly, just ten points.

Baltimore will now prepare for Cincinnati on a short week and Amazon’s Thursday Night Football.

Broncos pleased with development of young players this season

“I’m pleased with our younger players that are getting to play,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said.

The Denver Broncos are a young team led by a rookie quarterback.

There are, of course, plenty of veteran players mixed in, but the Broncos have a young core of Bo Nix (24), Pat Surtain (24) and Quinn Meinerz (25) with key pieces including Ja’Quan McMillian (24), Riley Moss (24) and Nik Bonitto (25) and rookies like Audric Estime (21), Troy Franklin (21) and Jonah Elliss (21).

Eight games into the 2024 season, coach Sean Payton likes what he’s seen from the youngsters.

“I’m pleased with our younger players that are getting to play,” Payton said Monday. “We have a young group and a young team. We have some veterans mixed in. We just have to continue. Much the same as we’re developing the quarterback — which obviously gets a lot of the attention — we have to be developing these other younger players just as well.”

Nix and a few other rookies were thrown right into the fire this season. There’s no time to sit back and observe. Denver needs the rookies to play and develop right away, and they have.

“We say this now, ‘There’s no more rookies anymore,'” Payton said. “We’re eight games in. As a team, we need to continue to grow. The Peloton doesn’t have room to wait for the slackers. It’s like, ‘Let’s go.’ So far, we haven’t had to do that, and we’ll continue to keep that pace.”

Up next for the young Broncos is a tough road test against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9.

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Can the Broncos take a moral victory from Sunday?

“The fact that we gave ourselves a chance there at the end to have another opportunity says a lot about our team,” Broncos QB Bo Nix said.

The Denver Broncos fell behind 20-0 in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday and they trailed 23-0 entering the fourth quarter.

Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix then led three scoring drives to make it 23-16 and the team was an onside kick away from getting a chance to tie the game. The onside attempt failed and Denver fell to 3-3, but the team never quit and battled until the end.

That counts for something, right?

“Week-in and week-out that there’s no quit in this team,” wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. “Down 23-0, it could have been easy for us to lay down and say, ‘Oh, they got us today’, but no. We went out there and we put our best foot forward in that half and came a little short. Those are the sins from the first half, and that’s something that we can address, and it’s something that we can fix.

“However, that second half showed everything that we needed to know about this team and that there’s no quit. Everybody’s going to continue to battle, continue to fight, until the clock has four zeros on it. I tell the guys all the time, they’re going to get everything I got the entire game, until it says zero. Whatever it may be, and I know that every guy in this locker room believes that we can accomplish whatever we want.”

The Broncos clearly need to play with more urgency from the start of games, but it is a good sign that the team doesn’t give up.

“It shows that no matter what type of adversity we’re going through, we will rally together,” guard Quinn Meinerz said. “No matter what, we’re still going to be fighting until the clock says zero.”

Defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers echoed that sentiment: “I said it in training camp, I wasn’t born with a quit button. Nobody on this team was either and you saw it in that second half. We have got to start faster, we understand that, but you have next week for that.”

Rallying back is great, but the players also know they have to start games better. Sunday’s deficit proved to be too large to overcome.

“We never wavered,” pass rusher Nik Bonitto said. “We always knew we can come back in the game, no matter how many points. We’ve seen it last year, against Chicago and in multiple games, but we just have to come out with better urgency.”

Denver’s left tackle, Garett Bolles, said he was proud of the team’s effort to fight back after falling behind.

“[We’re] relentless,” Bolles said. “This team is young and full of dogs. It really is. You know, me being the older guy, you know, being around these young guys, that fuels me. I’m very grateful for this team. We don’t have one single quitter on this team. We’re just a bunch of dogs that are just hungry and humble, and we just want to win and play ball.

“You know, we got to work out some kinks. Obviously, we got some things that we got to fix but to come back, being down by 20 or 23 points and scoring 14 points, that’s hard to do in this league. It really is hard, but we have nothing but fighters, and I couldn’t be more proud of this team after a loss like this.”

Fittingly, Nix had perhaps the best message after the game.

“It’s tough, but I think that’s our team,” the QB said. “I think that’s what kind of team we have. We have a very determined and hard-working team. We’re able to get down and continue to fight. Not every game is going to be easy. We’re not going to blow every team out. Sometimes you get knocked down early [and] you’ve got to find a way to gut it out at the end. The fact that we gave ourselves a chance there at the end to have another opportunity says a lot about our team. I’m excited about this team. I know today wasn’t what we wanted, but I feel like we’re headed in the right direction with how we finished the game.

“You can’t normally take moral victories after a loss, it’s tough. Nobody likes to lose. Nobody wants to be on that side, but you can look at it and you can only go two ways. You can continue to go backwards, let it defeat you, let it crush you, and you get in your head, or you’re going to continue to move forward. I believe our team is going to continue to move forward [and] stay motivated. Today didn’t settle well with us. We’re going to continue to battle, find ways to get better, and continue to put good stuff on the field.”

Spoken like a team captain.

The Broncos will face the Chargers again in Week 16.

“We have to be better,” coach Sean Payton said. “We will see them again at some point and we will go from there.”

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Quinn Meinerz had a bad bowling experience at The Greenbrier

Quinn Meinerz brought his own bowling ball and shoes to the The Greenbrier, but the lanes were not oiled and his ball got scratched.

After playing in Florida last week, the Denver Broncos are staying at a luxury (haunted?) resort in West Virginia this week leading up to their game against the New York Jets on Sunday.

The Greenbrier has its own bowling lanes and a golf course, and Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz was excited to bowl this week, but it didn’t go well.

“I went to the bowling alley,” Meinerz recalled Thursday. “I brought my own ball and shoes. But they didn’t oil the lanes, so as soon as I threw the ball, it went straight to the gutter. And then when it came back from the return, [it left] scratches on my ball and everything. So I kind of stopped bowling and then went to the arcade.”

https://twitter.com/Scotty_G6/status/1839388811840913526

Meinerz said his league average was 200 in 2023.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and cornerback Pat Surtain both gave positive reports about The Greenbrier, and it has met the team’s football needs, but not everything has been perfect. Defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers estimated that the ate “about 14 times” on Tuesday. He only had one complaint, via the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson:

Franklin-Myers said the only issue he had was ordering a chicken sandwich and was surprised that it was open-faced. So, he asked for a bun to put on top.

The Greenbrier is a beautiful location to practice, but it’s not without its peculiarities for players.

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