The Broncos are back in action and debuted their new unis in their preseason debut vs the Colts and I have to say they look cool in action. The Broncos defeated the Colts 34-30 in their preseason opener and I'll share some things that I liked and things I hope to see more of moving forward:
What I liked:
The run game looked much more creative than it did a year ago as the offense implemented more toss plays and stretch runs allowing the speed of the running backs to help keep the offense on schedule. Hopefully, this is the norm for the season.
Audric Estime and Jaleel McLaughlin were the perfect mix of lighting and thunder. Estime's ability to keep the offense on the schedule was nice to see as he had 10 carries for 31 yards with a TD which isn't great numbers but he rarely had negative plays which I feel is very important for a very young offense. McLaughlin made all the splash plays as he finished with 7 carries for 30 yards and added some more to the passing game with 2 receptions for 26 yards. It felt like the Broncos went away from Jaleel as the season went on last year so hopefully we don't make that mistake this year because he is a dynamic player not only on the ground but adds another element to the passing game
Bo Nix was everything I hoped he would show. After a little shaky of a start, he finished the game with 125 yards passing with 1TD and no interceptions on 15/21 passing. He was poised in the pocket and didn't take any sacks which was refreshing to see after Russ last year. His TD throw to the left sideline outside the numbers to Marvin Mimms was nice and he made a couple more nice throws outside the numbers the whole game. He also made some nice runs and extended plays, especially on 3rd down. His first completion was a nice throw down the left sideline to Sutton while moving to his left. The Broncos finished with 4 scores(2 TD, 2FG) in his 5 drives. It was encouraging to see and if he keeps this up for the next 2 games he will no doubt be the week 1 starter
What I hope to see more of:
I don't think Troy Franklin did a whole lot this game so I am hoping to see Sean Payton get him more involved in the offense next week vs the Packers. He is one of the players I am most excited to see mainly because of the chemistry he and Nix already have as they were teammates in Oregon
The Broncos fumbled 5 times in this game and lost it twice and one of them led to a score. Hopefully, that was more of a rust issue because of it being week 1 in the preseason and they clean that up before the season begins because 5 is a little too much even if the reason for them was rust.
Bo Nix was a little off in his ball placement especially on the crossing routes as he threw behind the receiver a few times. This I am not too worried about as I believe he will correct it as he gets more and more reps in the NFL
It was a good start and getting the win is always nice even if it is just preseason. Go Broncos!
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