In Broncos loss, they got a win in something specific that truly mattered

DENVER — Broncos coach Sean Payton didn’t like the effort from his team in Friday night’s 33-13 preseason throttling at the hands of the Green Bay Packers — not even from the first-teamers, who left the field with a lead, with the No. 1 offense scoring 10 points on its two possessions.

He even insinuated that the starters might play into the third quarter in next Friday night’s preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings. Last year in the preseason finale at New Orleans, they were pulled early in the second quarter.

“I want to play them all until the third quarter next week,” Payton said. “So let’s figure out the tape tomorrow, see where we’re at and let’s do what’s best for us as we prepare for the [Kansas City] Chiefs.”

Of course, in 2025 the Broncos had two joint practices, which was part of the reason why nearly all of the starters sat out that year’s second preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. The dynamic is a bit different in terms of repetitions against other teams, with Payton opting out of joint practices for this season.

Friday night’s defeat was also the Broncos’ first preseason loss since 2023.

But the first-teamers left with a 10-7 lead. And the Broncos got something their fans craved: the first game-speed validation of the potential Jaylen Waddle has with Bo Nix, demonstrated on the 36-yard connection the two had on the Broncos’ third offensive play. It set up a touchdown pass to RJ Harvey moments later.

“When you throw him the ball, you understand that it’s a little bit different,” Nix said.

“He’s just a really great football player. He adds a lot to our team, not only on the field, but like we just mentioned it, joking on the sideline, just him being on the sideline, his personality just gets everybody going. He’s very exciting. He has a great positive attitude. He’s going to be great for us.”

Truth be told, the flash of brilliance from the Nix-to-Waddle combination is a massive spark that could ignite the offense to its best collective work over a season since the salad days of Peyton Manning. Last year, Denver finished 10th in the NFL in total offense — its first top-10 ranking in 11 years.

Watching Waddle create separation with a cut and settle under Nix’s pass offered tangible evidence that the Broncos could reach the top-five level — also a place the club hasn’t been since 2014.

BUT THERE WAS PLENTY TO DISLIKE FOR BRONCOS

And that’s what rankled Payton. His team committed twice as many penalties (10) as Green Bay. The backups generated only a field goal in nearly three quarters of work. The game’s only giveaway belonged to Denver, when Jarrett Stidham locked in on tight end Lucas Krull, only to have Packers safety Mark Perry diagnose the intent perfectly and pick off the pass, setting up a field goal as the first half ended.

The Broncos were also pounded up front. They averaged just 3.2 yards per carry as the Packers out-rushed them 118 yards to 70. The Packers had more than twice as many tackles for losses (seven) as Denver (three).

“I said this after the game — just pick a topic,” Payton lamented. “Pick penalties, we lose there, kickoff, kickoff return, we lose that battle; rushing numbers, we lose that. We can’t just say, ‘Hey, this is preseason [game] two.’ Each phase saw their share of what ended up being the final score.

“So, tomorrow we’ve got to be able to come in, coaches the same way, and look closely at what we’re doing and get the corrections made. You can’t not pay attention to these games, these scrimmages, these important steps towards the start of the regular season.”

As a result …

“I can’t think of one area that we played or outplayed them,” Payton said.

But that didn’t mean his team had a complete letdown. It might have shown a glimpse of the thing that could be the difference — the Nix-to-Waddle connection bearing fruit.

For more, watch the embedded video.

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