ENGLEWOOD, Colo — The top line of the Denver defensive tackle chart raised eyebrows.
Riley Moss led the team in tackles, by a significant margin, Sunday at Seattle with 12? What made this particular statistic interesting is one, Moss is a cornerback.
“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s a good stat line or a bad stat line,’’ Moss said with a smile to 9NEWS at his locker this week.
Ordinarily, it’s not a good sign when a cornerback leads his team in tackles. Cornerbacks tackle on the third level of defense, which means the opposing ballcarriers or receivers are getting past the first and second levels.
Ordinarily, the top line of the Broncos’ tackle chart is all but reserved for inside linebacker Alex Singleton. Singleton was second on the team at Seattle with nine tackles.
But in Moss’ case, a big reason why he led the Broncos in tackles – in his NFL starting debut, no less – was his want-to.
“I thought Riley played well in his first NFL start versus a high-end NFL receiver with a high-end quarterback,’’ said defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. “Obviously, they wanted to attack Riley from time to time, but he was always in the spot to make the play and that's what you ask young guys to do. Compete and challenge guys every play.
“He tackled well. That was encouraging for a young corner to go out there and tackle that back one-on-one a couple of times. That's encouraging. He played with confidence and he wasn't shaken by anything. He's going to be fine.”
While Broncos’ top cornerback Pat Surtain II spent about 60-70% of the game covering Seahawks’ top receiver D.K. Metcalf, Moss was primarily assigned to Tyler Lockett, who may be the NFL’s most underrated receiver. In the past five seasons, Lockett has averaged 84 catches for 1,043 yards and 8 touchdowns. Remarkable production. He had six catches for 77 yards against the Broncos, not all of which came while Moss was guarding him.
But enough for Moss to lament the outcome.
“After the game I was disappointed I let up some of those passes, especially the one late in the game,’’ Moss said. “But after looking at the film … ‘’
Wait a minute. How close was Moss to getting a hand on the Geno Smith pass that Lockett caught with a reaching left hand to convert a third-and-6 with 1:48 remaining, an impressive one-handed snag that iced Seattle’s 26-20 win?
“To be honest I don’t know how he caught it,’’ Moss said. “But at the same time you’ve got to make the play and so that’s kind of the learning point now is when you’re in position, make the play.”
Still, Moss plays with a style that makes him fun to watch. He plays with energy – hence the team-high 12 tackles – and a fearlessness, as all cornerbacks must. He may get picked on until he refines his game and with the All-Pro Surtain on the other side. But watch out once Moss gets adapted to the NFL passing game.
He’d be further along by now except for a training camp core injury last year that required surgery. That set Moss back to special teams during his rookie year.
But as he beat out the more established Damarri Mathis and Levi Wallace for the starting cornerback job during this year’s OTAs, training camp and preseason, Moss showed he’s not afraid to break on the ball. He had 11 interceptions in his five seasons at Iowa, three of which he returned for touchdowns.
He will come up with a pick or two before his first full season at cornerback is finished. Naturally, Moss wishes he already had an interception in the bank.
“I was in great position most of the time,’’ he said. “At the end of the day I’ve got to make at least one of those.”