Mile High Report
The Denver Broncos finished the preseason with a 3-0 record after defeating the New Orleans Saints by the score of 28-19. With cuts looming, and honestly, likely already mostly decided, this was the last chance for a lot of the players to make one last impression on the Broncos coaches before they meet and decide on who stays and who goes.
In this game, we saw the Broncos’ starting offense play their starters, and while they started out slow, they finished on a high note. Outside of that, it was certainly a preseason finale, and we’ll be going over the winners and losers from this game.
Probably the only takeaway from this game can be made about the Broncos’ offense. They started out slow with a three-and-out, and panic set in for Broncos Country. However, a second drive did lead to a field goal, but it was still far from perfect. However, on the third and final drive, Nix and Sutton started clicking and two led the Broncos offense down the field for a touchdown.
Nix finished the game 10 for 14 for 110 yards and 1 touchdown, while Sutton had 4 receptions for 83 yards and 1 touchdown. The two have chemistry, and Sutton is the player Nix looks for when he needs a big play. The two carried a Broncos offense on that final drive and has the first team unit leaving the preseason on a high note.
We did not see Jarrett Stidham play today after his hot start in the preseason, so we saw a lot of the third-string quarterback, Sam Ehlinger, in this one. He came in after Nix and the starters left the field after three drives and played the rest of the game. He would go 22 for 31 for 198 yards and 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The interception came on a deflected screen pass attempt, and his touchdown was a prayer to undrafted rookie Kyrese Rowan, who hauled it in for a touchdown.
Stidham not playing was not expected, so it’ll be interesting to see what happened there, but Ehlinger proved he can be a solid backup if needed for the Broncos.
The good: Audric Estime looked good today and had 8 carries for 45 yards and 1 touchdown
The bad: He was the final back to see a carry and didn’t see his first carry until the 3rd quarter.
This was with Jaleel McLaughlin sitting out the game due to his partner being in labor, and veteran J.K. Dobbins not playing in this game. Rookie R.J. Harvey got the start, Tyler Badie came in on third downs, and Blake Watson was the next back in. So, while it was a good showing for Estime, the optics don’t paint a great picture for him.
We’ll see if Estime makes the team, but I have him as a borderline practice squad player...
