New England Patriots: Grading Position Groups Week 12

Nov 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) fails to a catch a pass while being defended by New England Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan (26) and free safety Devin McCourty (32) during the second half at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 30-24. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Secondary

Grade: A-

May all the Logan Ryan haters be silenced forever. For a cornerback that many wanted to be cut at the beginning of the season, Logan Ryan has been playing great this season. He continued that trend on Sunday night, when he completely shut down Demariyus Thomas.

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Thomas’ only catch came on a perfectly thrown ball that was well defended by Logan Ryan. In all, Thomas was held to one reception on a staggering 13 targets.

Aside from Ryan, Malcolm Butler played well on Emmanuel Sanders. Even when Butler got beat (which wasn’t often), he was usually able to defend the pass in some form.

The safeties played a great game as usual, especially Patrick Chung, who played in the slot. His one gaffe (if you can call it that), came late in the fourth quarter when he was called for a very questionable holding penalty on Demariyus Thomas. The play negated a big sack, and eventually ended up a Broncos touchdown.

Osweiler was held to a 72.5 passer rating, despite having the same number of completions and throws as Tom Brady.

Next: Special Teams