Branch totaled 11 tackles, including three tackles for loss, and two pass breakups in Sunday's 20-6 win over Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Making his first career start with C.J. Gardner-Johnson (pectoral) and Kerby Joseph (hip) on the shelf, Branch logged every defensive snap and turned heads while doing so. While the rookie did commit a pair of 15-yard personal fouls along the way -- including a highly debatable unnecessary roughness call for a helmet-jarring tackle of Falcons running back Bijan Robinson -- the good far outweighed the bad. With Gardner-Johnson set to miss at least the next three weeks on injured reserve and Joseph yet to practice since his Week 2 injury, Branch could remain an every-down player for the foreseeable future.