The Denver Broncos kicked off their preseason on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. Starters were projected to play just 10-15 plays with Jarrett Stidham at the helm and that is about how it went. Though the defense was so good with their first team that they ended up playing four series and still came in under 15 total plays, while the offense ended up getting just three drives and played a bit more than 15.
The result was a blowout first half by Denver with the offense putting up three scoring
drives and the defense stuffing the Falcons offense. Jahdae Barron would also add a 97-yard interception return for a touchdown. Things got a bit quiet in the second half, but we should be pleased with the performance of the first and second team units in this first preseason game. Bring on Bo Nix next week!
Broncos vs. Falcons final score
First Quarter
Stidham and the Broncos took the field to start the game and he immediately found Pat Bryant for a quick 15 yards to kickstart their drive. RJ Harvey picked up four on the next play, then a quick slant to Courtland Sutton brought up a third and short that was picked up by fullback Adam Prentice to move Denver across midfield on their opening drive.
Then the big play struck on a 40-yard bomb from Stidham to Sutton down to the goal line where an inside handoff to Prentice would put Denver on the board first.
Tua Tagovailoa and the Falcons starters didn’t get anything going with their first possession. Jonathon Cooper with a tackle for a loss on first down, then a botched snap resulted in a Malcolm Roach sack and a completed pass well short of the sticks for a quick three-and-out for Atlanta.
With Denver’s 7-play scoring drive well below the expected 10-15 snaps, we ended up getting their starters out for a second possession in the first quarter. They would open up with back-to-back handoffs to RJ Harvey. He would pick up nine yards and with a third consecutive handoff he fought his way across the line for a first down.
Two plays later Courtland Sutton was being manhandled, but all he needed was one hand to bring down the 16-yard completion. Quite the effort from the veteran in a meaningless preseason game.
Rookie Jonah Coleman got into the mix after that with back-to-back runs for just four yards. On third and six, Stidham was hit when he was throwing for an incomplete pass to end the drive and the starters night.
Kyle Pitts picked up a nice gain to get Atlanta their first first down of the game, but the Broncos defense completely clamped down from there. Tua was a bit hurried and rattled to end that drive due to the constant pressure.
Surprisingly, the starters stayed in the game on the third series. They began their possession backed up inside the 20, but Stidham would hit Evan Engram on a nice deep crosser for 20 yards to get things moving on the drive. The drive looked like it would stall after a few penalties, but rookie Jonah Coleman would bounce outside for a first down run for 13 yards. He looked good on that drive.
The first quarter would end with Stiddy finding Troy Franklin wide open for a big gain into Falcons’ territory.
Broncos 7, Falcons 0.
Second Quarter
Denver’s drive would stall out from there to bring Wil Lutz out for a 43-yard field goal that he would boot right through.
The Falcons starters were done for their third series and that change proved disastrous as Denver kept many of their starters in. Cooper Rush would look to throw over the middle and Riley Moss would come down with the interception to set Denver up in scoring position.
Cam Ross would bounce an end-around for a 28-yard gain to set the Broncos up with a first and goal opportunity. Stidham would be pressured, but found Jaleel McLaughlin open inside for an easy five-yard touchdown to put the Broncos up big in the first half.
Denver would keep their starting defense on the field for a fourth drive and would force another punt from Atlanta. That was surprising until I saw that the defense was only on the field for 13 plays, which would be right between that 10-15 play count.
That would change everything for the Falcons offense under Cooper Rush. They would finally get a drive going late in the first half driving down to the six yard line. Rush, pressured and threw into good coverage, where the ball was tipped into the waiting hands of Jahdae Barron who would return it 97 yards for the pick six touchdown to make this first preseason game into a blowout.
Broncos 24, Falcons 0.
Third Quarter
Sam Ehlinger took over the offense in the second half. He would get Denver into fringe field goal range for a 55-yard field attempt, but a muffed snap would result in a turnover on downs to give Atlanta decent field position. The defense would force another predictable punt, but disaster awaited Denver anyway. Jaleel McLaughlin returned to the game and on his second carry he would cough up the football to give the Falcons the ball at Denver’s 17 yard line where they would quickly get into a first and goal situation at the five.
The Broncos defense would stuff the first run with a tackle for loss by Taurean York. On second down, they would get that yard back and more down to the one yard line before punching it in from there.
Broncos 24, Falcons 7.
Fourth Quarter
Ehlinger and the Broncos got a drive going early in the fourth quarter. They avoided disaster on a deep shot that was initially ruled an interception, but overturned on review. The drive would ultimately stall out to bring Wil Lutz out for another 55-yard field goal attempt. This time the snap was high, but manageably. Lutz would pull it just wide left for the miss.
The Falcons did nothing with that good field position and were kicking it right back after a three-and-out. Denver then benefited from several penalties on their next drive to get them back into field goal range again. The 46-yard field attempt was finally good by Wil Lutz and he was happy enough to give a thumbs up over to the coaching staff on that one.
Broncos 27, Falcons 7.
