Broncos resting their starters in preseason finale
Aug 26, 2023, 4:46 PM | Updated: 6:45 pm
DENVER — Sean Payton was non-committal Thursday about whether his starters would play in the preseason finale.
“Fair question,” he replied when asked. “There may be a few. It’s a little trickier than saying, ‘All the starters aren’t playing.’ You do have to play four quarters, and you don’t want a certain half of your roster getting 60 snaps and risking injury, either.”
By the 6 o’clock hour in Denver, we learned that the starters would rest en masse. Sean Payton chose to rest the entire No. 1 unit, plus key rotational reserves, including TE Greg Dulcich and RB Samaje Perine.
The first indication of a lack of playing time for the starters came hours before kickoff, when KUSA-Ch. 9’s Mike Klis reported that the No. 1 Broncos offensive line would sit out. That group that includes right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who missed the previous two games with a sprained knee.
Denver’s No. 1 offensive line consists of McGlinchey, right guard Quinn Meinerz, center Lloyd Cushenberry, left guard Ben Powers and left tackle Garett Bolles. The unit has struggled at times in training camp and the preseason. However, its form was better in last week’s game against San Francisco than during the preseason opener against Arizona.
Further, the group flourished at run blocking during last week’s 21-20 loss. Its work allowed Perine to average a robust 7.3 yards per carry on three attempts. Javonte Williams also averaged 4.0 yards per carry in his preseason debut.
One reason why the Broncos could rest plenty of starters is the work they received Wednesday and Thursday during joint practices against the Los Angeles Rams.
“We’re over 120 team snaps,” Payton said. “That’s huge when it comes to the evaluation process. Just more information.”
The visiting Rams are not expected to play their starters. That fits in with coach Sean McVay’s longtime philosophy of resting his first-teamers throughout the preseason. Given the Rams’ success over the six previous seasons — including two NFC titles and a Super Bowl LVI win over the Cincinnati Bengals — it is hard to argue with the wisdom of his choice.
***
