The Denver Broncos starters were not good against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.
Even for the biggest fans in Broncos Country, wearing orange and blue glasses, that much was clear.
Denver’s best players lost to the Niners’ backups 9-0 in the first quarter.
Eventually, Broncos QB Bo Nix led a field goal drive in the second, putting some points on the board.
But before that, Nix took a safety after his offensive line seemingly forgot how to block and cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian got burned for a 50-yard completion, leading to a San Francisco touchdown. This was not how anyone expected the Broncos to play in their 2025 debut.
Head coach Sean Payton cranked up the pressure last week when he told anyone who would listen about how great this team is. He put thoughts of the Super Bowl out there — the squad that took the field in Santa Clara didn’t look like a championship contender.
Maybe, just maybe, they’ll be back at Levi’s Stadium in six months, playing for the Lombardi Trophy.
And maybe the starters struggling wasn’t a bad thing?
If the Broncos had come out and dominated the 49ers, we’d all be bored. Chomping at the bit for the regular season to get here.
Instead, this is a good reset. A nice reminder training camp is still important, that Denver must take this week against the Cardinals seriously. They’ll have a joint practice on Thursday before the “dress rehearsal” game on Saturday night at Empower Field at Mile High.
It’s hard to skip steps in life, and the Broncos reminded us in their first game that it’s easy to dream about a parade, it’s much harder to actually throw one.
Nix needs to improve. Payton needs to coach better. The defense, outside of Nik Bonitto wrecking a series, must be sharper. There’s work to be done all around.
The reality is once the holidays get here, no one is going to remember what happened on August 9. But the lessons learned could mean Denver’s first AFC West title since 2015.
Yes, the Broncos were probably feeling themselves only a few days ago. Now, maybe not so much. Even in a 30-9 victory, you can bet every starter went to bed not feeling great about the product they put out on the field.
And that’s the beauty of sports. You never want to peak early, instead it’s all about a slow build and getting hot at the right time. If Denver had clicked on all cylinders, the rest of the summer would feel pretty worthless. Everyone would be itching for games that count.
But there’s a long look in the mirror this squad can take. Why couldn’t the offense move the football effectively? Why is the defense getting shredded by Mac Jones of all quarterbacks?
You know these are the questions Payton and his staff asked themselves on Sunday and Monday before hitting the practice field on Tuesday.
Again, none of this is bad. The reality is the Broncos still won by 21 points. They showed they have great depth and some tough roster decisions are coming.
Still, we can’t pretend we all didn’t see the same thing on Saturday night. We were ready to be “wowed” and the end result was fairly disappointing.
That’s okay. It’s August and and improving is the name of the game. The season is about a long journey, not what happened in preseason game No. 1.
But things have to be crisper this week. The Cardinals are not a very good football team. The Broncos need to smack them around on Thursday at practice and do the same thing this weekend.
If that happens, the starters can enjoy their weekend in New Orleans before preseason game No. 3, not worried about playing football.
Once that date comes and goes, it’s all about Sept. 7 against the Titans. The games will count, for real, and a preseason blip can hopefully turn into regular season domination.