Denver Broncos: First half against Vikings not a complete disaster

The Denver Broncos came out flat against the Minnesota Vikings, gave up some big plays, and didn’t look good at all in the preseason opener…

Kirk Cousins was phenomenal as the Denver Broncos opened their preseason slate against the Minnesota Vikings, going 4-for-4 on his first drive with his new team including a touchdown pass.

The only problem is, Cousins isn’t playing for the Denver Broncos.

In the battle of new quarterbacks, Cousins significantly out-shined Case Keenum, whose two drives with the Broncos lasted six plays and ended with two Marquette King punts.

Yuck.

The first half for the Broncos went about that way, for the most part, as Paxton Lynch replaced Keenum and managed to provide even worse play than simple three-and-outs.

Kudos to Lynch for his creativity.

Here are some first-half observations, and be warned — they are mostly overwhelmingly negative.

First, the good.

Isaiah McKenzie

Isaiah McKenzie caught two punts and had this stellar return for a touchdown.

Why did the Broncos stick with McKenzie through his struggles? That is exactly why. He’s electric with the ball in his hands and one of the Broncos’ most gifted playmakers in terms of pure speed and quickness.

Royce Freeman

Royce Freeman made his case for the number one running back spot in Denver after a couple of decent runs in the first quarter followed by a vintage touchdown run for the first score of his NFL career:

That type of run is a momentum shifter in a close position battle. Freeman looked pretty darn good there and also had a nice burst up the middle a couple of plays before that.

He had a bad pass protection earlier in the game but made up for it here.

The offense was bad, but Paxton Lynch was worse

Instead of simply not being able to push the ball past the sticks, Lynch immediately came into the game and threw an interception.

The ball hit Austin Traylor in the hands, but it was highly contested and turned into a tip drill. It wasn’t entirely Traylor’s fault.

Lynch’s second drive after the interception ended when he tried to force the ball into the short flat to a receiver after he had DaeSean Hamilton streaking across the field wide open.

The following possession ended after three plays (again) as Lynch took a nine-yard sack on third-down.

Lynch missed a back shoulder touchdown to DaeSean Hamilton after an interception from Zaire Anderson (off of Trevor Siemian) as well.

Lynch had a golden opportunity before the half to run the two-minute offense and really stunk. He completed a quick five-yard pass to start off the drive to Phillip Lindsay, nearly took a sack on the next play, and had a screen pass batted down.

The screen play would have gone for a huge gain as Lindsay had nothing but green in front.

It was a horrendous first half from Lynch who continues to not look like an NFL quarterback.

How was Bradley Chubb?

There was good and bad with Chubb.

With no Von Miller on the other side of the field, Chubb was picked on initially before making a couple of nice plays, including a stop at the goal line and a hit on the quarterback.

Nothing crazy happened, bad or good, in Chubb’s debut.

Trevor Siemian’s triumphant return

Siemian helped lead the Vikings to three scoring drives, including two touchdown passes. One on a nice back shoulder throw and the other on a 78-yard screen play that went for a score.

Even though Siemian threw an interception that was his fault on a ball that was tipped in the air by his receiver, it was a triumphant return to Denver for him.

Additional observations

Courtland Sutton was seldom targeted in the early goings. Again, the Broncos’ offense was limited to six plays with the top unit before Paxton Lynch entered the game, so that’s not a major surprise.

Fellow 2018 draft pick Isaac Yiadom joined Bradley Chubb with the number one defense, and he was picked on a little bit. Yiadom gave up some big plays including the touchdown to Stefon Diggs on a one-yard slant play.

Marquette King looked pretty good punting the ball…

Jamal Carter had a really nice blitz on the Siemian touchdown pass and was inches away from the sack, and made a great tackle for loss late in the half before hobbling off with an injury. He looked like he was in quite a bit of pain. It was reported he injured his hamstring and will not return to the game.

It’s going to be tough for the Broncos to look much worse than they did in this particular half of football all preseason, no matter which string is on the field.