Broncos at 49ers: The Preseason No Bull Review

It wasn’t pretty, but the Denver Broncos got through their first preseason game with a win.

I can’t help but be at least a little concerned given how poorly the Broncos’ starters performed against mostly the San Francisco 49ers’ backups.

We can rest easy with the idea that this was a much-needed time for the starters to knock the rust off in preparation for the season.

Offense

I usually like to talk here about the offensive game plan and play calling, but I don’t know how much that really serves us fans for a preseason game.

The only real note I had was hating a 3rd and 5 play call that had Sutton on a 2-yard route, which was easily stopped. Outside of that, there’s not much to really be concerned with. The team was playing some very vanilla stuff and, mostly as a unit, didn’t execute well (speaking of the starters, of course).

It seemed pretty obvious to me that Sean Payton wanted to get some guys some serious looks and touches, and outside of that, wasn’t too concerned with being fancy.

Quarterbacks

We’re not going to go jumping off cliffs yet, but it is a bit worrisome that Bo Nix looked completely average. He was 6 of 11 for 30 yards with his longest pass going for 9 yards.

Jarrett Stidham threw an absolute dime for his 2nd touchdown. He was certainly working with a more interesting set of plays and obviously making sure to show off for Payton that he’s the guy when it comes to the question of who should back up Bo Nix. He was 14 for 15 on the day for 136 yards, 2 TD, and 0 Interceptions.

Sam Ehlinger put in some respectable work late in the game, going 6 of 10 for 55 yards and 1 touchdown. I don’t see a world where he ends up taking Stidham’s job, but he definitely put a good foot forward in his debut with the Broncos.

Line

The biggest problem I saw with our offensive line was many problems holding their blocks. They executed good initial contact, but the 49ers constantly outmaneuvered them in short order to screw up the Broncos’ plays early. For the starting unit, I hope to see a lot of improvement heading into the season opener.

Running Backs

R.J. Harvey’s debut was honestly rather lackluster. I could tell he’s obviously got speed and quickness. The worrisome trend I saw was him constantly cutting outside. There were probably half of his runs that had some holes for him to gain yardage on, but he didn’t even try to give his line a chance. Keep in mind, we don’t know if that’s by design or not. He still ran for a respectable 3.6 yards per carry against tough opposition.

Tyler Badie had the best game of all the running backs for the Broncos in my mind. He showed the ability to shift and cut when his lane was clogged. He was quick to his reads and used his speed to maximize his gains. He gained 6.4 yards per carry on just 5 runs.

Blake Watson also did really well with his opportunities, averaging 7 yards per carry on 4 runs. I don’t think he looked quite as impactful as Badie to my eyes, but he certainly had a good showing.

Audric Estime is going to earn a job on the practice squad with the way he’s trending. He only gained 2.6 yards per carry and still looks mostly like a plodder who doesn’t have quite enough power and speed to get solid gains consistently.

Most surprising to me was how poorly Jaleel McLaughlin looked. He only had a few attempts and only gained 1.7 yards per carry. With some younger backs showing up with a wider array of skills, his job could very well be in jeopardy.

Receivers

Courtland Sutton was in midseason form with a drop that hit him in his hands. I honestly expected more than 2 yards on 3 targets out of him, especially after signing a big extension.

Pat Bryant had a couple of really nice receptions early to move the chains. I’m liking the smooth route running we see from him. He did have one play where he failed to get his second foot in at the sideline, and it cost the Broncos a nice chunk of yardage on a free play (note, this won’t show up on the stat sheet as there was an offsides enforced on the defense).

Lucas Krull got the easiest touchdown catch you will see off of a blown coverage play by the 49ers. He had at least 15 yards between him and the closest defender. At least we got to see that at least one of our tight ends will catch wide-open passes when defenses give them that opportunity.

Trent Sherfield, Jr. had a great touchdown catch and showed great focus to secure the ball all the way to the ground on his touchdown. Each of his 3 catches were solid routes run by a veteran wide receiver. I don’t know how much we’ll see of him in the regular season, but I think this was a solid depth move by the Broncos this offseason from the looks of this game.

At the end of last season, I was pretty down on Troy Franklin. He put together a really solid game against the 49ers with 3 catches for 18 yards. I saw a young receiver running clean routes, which he had trouble with last season.

Defense

The story is pretty similar to what we saw from the offense in this game. Early on, struggles by the starters were followed by stellar performances from our backups.

Our run defense had some creases to it early. Our coverage still gave up some easy catches. Once the 3rd string quarterback came in for the 49ers, everything really fell into place for Vance Joseph’s units.

Outside of a couple of standout plays early, we walk away from this game being just a bit concerned about this defense.

Front 7

I’m not entirely sure why we were playing Nik Bonitto in this game, but he single-handedly wrecked a drive for the 49ers. He had a sack, tackle for loss, and 2 quarterback hits in his short day’s work.

Justin Strnad got downhill quickly early for a very nice tackle for loss. He’s a solid backup linebacker for the team and is still showing that he’s got what it takes to step in and make plays.

Karene Reid had a superb leaping interception in the middle of the field off a really poorly thrown pass. Athletic plays like that go a long way in the NFL if you can consistently show them on the field of play. I’m hoping we see more of this from the rookie out of Utah.

Sai’vion Jones caught my attention by batting down a pass. Later in the drive, he ended up recovering a fumble. This rookie out of LSU showed some real potential in his limited snaps.

Secondary

Ja’Quan McMillian got beat early out of the slot for a big gain. Later in the quarter, he gets a clean pick on the outside off a very poorly thrown ball to make up for it.

Abrahms-Draine nice pass defense on 3rd down. It was good to see a young corner making splashes in the secondary. We need depth there, and he showed last season was no flash in the pan.

Special Teams

Courtney Jackson looked good returning for the Broncos in this game. He had a long return of 25 yards. He’s not likely to take Mims’ job any time soon, but he’ll either be a backup returner for the Broncos or find himself a spot on another team’s roster if he keeps it up.

Jeremy Crawshaw’s day was pretty head-scratching. Our big-legged rookie punter looked like he lacked any real sense of placement for shorter punts, giving the 49ers far too many easy yards when he could have pinned them back.

Final Thoughts

Love it or hate it, the NFL preseason is a much-needed exercise for teams in the NFL. The Broncos surely have plenty of work to do before week 1.

Hats off to the San Francisco 49ers. They played solid football and gave our team a hell of a test for a preseason game.

What was your favorite play of the game? Hit me up in the comments and let me know. Mine was easily the touchdown throw from Stidham to Sherfield. Hopefully, Bo Nix and the starters were taking notes from the sideline.

Broncos at 49ers: The Preseason No Bull Review

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