Mile High Report
It wasn’t pretty, but the Denver Broncos got through their first preseason game with a win.
I can’t help but be at least a little concerned given how poorly the Broncos’ starters performed against mostly the San Francisco 49ers’ backups.
We can rest easy with the idea that this was a much-needed time for the starters to knock the rust off in preparation for the season.
I usually like to talk here about the offensive game plan and play calling, but I don’t know how much that really serves us fans for a preseason game.
The only real note I had was hating a 3rd and 5 play call that had Sutton on a 2-yard route, which was easily stopped. Outside of that, there’s not much to really be concerned with. The team was playing some very vanilla stuff and, mostly as a unit, didn’t execute well (speaking of the starters, of course).
It seemed pretty obvious to me that Sean Payton wanted to get some guys some serious looks and touches, and outside of that, wasn’t too concerned with being fancy.
We’re not going to go jumping off cliffs yet, but it is a bit worrisome that Bo Nix looked completely average. He was 6 of 11 for 30 yards with his longest pass going for 9 yards.
Jarrett Stidham threw an absolute dime for his 2nd touchdown. He was certainly working with a more interesting set of plays and obviously making sure to show off for Payton that he’s the guy when it comes to the question of who should back up Bo Nix. He was 14 for 15 on the day for 136 yards, 2 TD, and 0 Interceptions.
Sam Ehlinger put in some respectable work late in the game, going 6 of 10 for 55 yards and 1 touchdown. I don’t see a world where he ends up taking Stidham’s job, but he definitely put a good foot forward in his debut with the Broncos.
The biggest problem I saw with our offensive line was many problems holding their blocks. They executed good initial contact, but the 49ers constantly outmaneuvered them in short order to screw up the Broncos’ plays early. For the starting unit, I hope to see a lot of improvement heading into the season opener.
R.J. Harvey’s debut was honestly rather lackluster. I could tell he’s obviously got speed and quickness. The worrisome trend I saw was him constantly cutting outside. There were probably half of his runs that had some holes for him to gain yardage on, but he didn’t even try to give his line a chance. Keep in mind, we don’t know if that’s by design or not. He still ran for a respectable 3.6 yards per carry against tough opposition.
Tyler Badie had the best game of all the running backs for the Broncos in my mind. He showed the ability to shift and cut when his lane was clogged....
