Broncos risers and fallers after preseason win against Dallas Cowboys

The Denver Broncos kicked off the 2022 preseason with a pretty fun victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Russell Wilson warmed up with his teammates but ultimately didn’t play. More than 20 key players for the Denver Broncos did not dress for this game, but unfortunately, Jonas Griffith did and looked like he was hurt pretty badly.

Griffith was ruled out of the game very quickly with an elbow injury but we don’t yet know the extent of it. He was clearly in a lot of pain walking off the field in the first quarter and make no mistake about it — losing Griffith would be terrible news for the Broncos’ defense.

As far as the game, the Broncos mostly dominated on both sides of the ball. The result of the game doesn’t really matter, but the reality is, if your guys go out there and execute, you’re probably going to get a great opportunity for evaluation and win the game.

The Broncos, in the first opportunity we’ve had to see Nathaniel Hackett at the helm of the team, put some really fun things out there for the football world to see. Who were some of the top risers and fallers from this game? Let’s take a look at a handful on either side of the ball.

Denver Broncos riser no. 1: Baron Browning, EDGE

Late in the first half, Baron Browning capped off what would have been an outstanding outing (if it had ended right here) with a sack on Cowboys backup quarterback Cooper Rush. Browning’s speed rush was just way too much for the Cowboys left tackle, and Browning came through the line with a sack and celebration dance that was very reminiscent of Von Miller.

The great first half by Browning was loaded as far as the stat sheet is concerned, but it was really just the way he played in this game each snap that has everyone buzzing. He was undoubtedly the star of the game for the Broncos defensively in the first half.

Unfortunately, he came out in the second half of the game. I get it, he’s playing a new position and the Broncos are going to have to use him on special teams in the regular season — but let’s get to the regular season. Browning shouldn’t have been playing in the second half after what we saw in the first half. Plenty of other edge players to get snaps.

Denver Broncos faller no. 1: Running game (on both sides)

Offensively, the Broncos really struggled to run the ball from the very first snap of the game for that unit. Mike Boone was swallowed up by Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Neville Gallimore for a huge loss on the Broncos’ first attempt at a wide zone play to the left side of the line. It wasn’t that Boone or any of the backs really did anything wrong, but the Broncos just weren’t winning in the trenches here.

That extended to the defensive side of the ball. The Cowboys averaged 5.1 yards per carry in this game and the Broncos’ defensive linemen were pretty consistently just getting driven backwards off the ball. The Cowboys had about 100 holding penalties in this game, but even without their infractions, the Broncos couldn’t really find an answer for stopping the run.

Denver Broncos riser no. 2: Alex Singleton/Justin Strnad

After the injury to Jonas Griffith, it was really great to see both Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad go out there for the Broncos and really do some nice things.

Both Singleton and Strnad showed off their sideline-to-sideline range but Strnad was able to play a little more extensively in this one and he showed some really nice things in this game attacking the line of scrimmage and making plays in space.

Not that anyone wants to have to see these guys out there starting with Jonas Griffith’s elbow injury, but both players showed some positive signs which is great news, especially in light of that particular potential loss.

Denver Broncos riser vs. Cowboys no. 3: Young wide receivers

This group was, dare I say stunning in this game against the Dallas Cowboys. Wow.

The Broncos’ group of young receivers could not have been more impressive in this game, so kudos to the coaching staff and quarterbacks for putting them in position to make some plays and get some good things on tape.

Let’s roll through the list.

Montrell Washington

The rookie fifth-round pick was sensational on punt returns. He had two opportunities and had returns of 18 and 27 yards. Offensively, the Broncos tried to force-feed the ball to Washington on one particular drive and the Cowboys weren’t really having it. It doesn’t matter though, because Washington’s contributions in the return game were outstanding and he’s going to get going offensively as we’ve seen in camp.

Brandon Johnson

The undrafted rookie out of UCF has had an outstanding training camp for the Broncos, and he continued to put on a show in the preseason with four receptions for 64 yards, both of which led the team (or tied for it, in the case of the four receptions) by the time Johnson left the game.

Johnson is well-built and he has strong hands. He runs good routes and he showed some savvy out there making a really tough catch deep downfield from Josh Johnson:

Kendall Hinton

My goodness, Kendall Hinton. That’s Hall of Famer Kendall Hinton, actually.

Hinton was sensational in this game, coming up with a huge touchdown reception showing off his ability to highpoint the ball and make a big play in contested coverage.

Hinton has consistently been impressive for the Broncos dating back to last season and he’s drawn rave reviews from the coaching staff and Russell Wilson throughout the offseason. Hinton has a place on this team and he showed out with three catches for 54 yards and that gorgeous touchdown.

Seth Williams

Seth Williams was also out there making plays. The 2021 sixth-round pick out of Auburn had a nice 19-yard reception early in the game, a sliding catch on a ball that was underthrown by Josh Johnson. He followed that up by showing off his ability to use that 6-foot-3 frame in the red zone for a nice touchdown grab.

Williams caught all four passes thrown his direction in this game for 29 yards and this really nice touchdown. With Tim Patrick out for the season, Williams is someone that can really give you a size advantage and he’s obviously someone the Broncos liked a lot in last year’s draft process.

He’s been showing some nice things just about every chance he’s had on the field.

Jalen Virgil

You didn’t think we were done highlighting the young receivers, did you? The Broncos had yet another young player out there making big plays — undrafted rookie Jalen Virgil, a standout return specialist from Appalachian State. Virgil has freakish athleticism and he really showed it on a number of his targets in this game.

Virgil had a route late in the game where he could have capped off this night with a touchdown, but it appeared he wasn’t running the route at full speed and he was badly overthrown by Brett Rypien. One way or another, at the back end of the route, Virgil created ridiculous separation from the defensive back with a burst of speed.

This guy is a freakish athlete and one among a number of really impressive athletes at the receiver position for the Broncos.

The roster decisions are sure to be brutal.

Denver Broncos risers & fallers vs. Cowboys: More standouts

PJ Locke had himself a really nice interception early on in this game on a fourth-down play for the Cowboys who were trying to extend a potential scoring drive. Locke was playing out of the slot on this particular play, showing off his versatility for the defensive backfield.

He’s had a great offseason and looks like he’s ready for the regular season with a much bigger role on the defense than we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.

Riser: Matt Henningsen, DL

Earlier on, we talked about the defensive line getting kind of blown up and pushed around in this game, but rookie sixth-round pick Matt Henningsen deserves some praise for the way he played for four quarters, just absolutely flying around the field with a borderline reckless abandon.

Henningsen had the QB hit on that PJ Locke interception and he was right there with Jonathan Kongbo late in the game for a sack on one of the Cowboys’ backup quarterbacks.

What about the backup QBs?

Starting with Josh Johnson, who had a really bad first quarter. Johnson’s passes in the first quarter were really off-target and frankly, a little worrisome. He really bounced back in the second quarter but I think, for the time being, the Broncos’ backup quarterback competition is far from decided.

Johnson put the ball on his receivers in the second quarter and helped lead the team to all 17 of the points they scored in this game.

Brett Rypien on the other hand didn’t lead any scoring drives but he did look pretty impressive for the majority of a 96-yard drive that ended with zero points, unfortunately. He made some bad decisions with the ball late in that drive and it cost the team a chance to add to the scoreboard.

In a real game situation, the Broncos would have kicked some field goals in some of the drives Rypien orchestrated, but the 96-yard drive could have been a 99-yard touchdown drive with a little better execution inside the five.

Broncos suffer what could be a significant loss early in preseason opener

Denver Broncos inside linebacker Jonas Griffith went down on just the second play of the preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

I’m not sure if we should call the backup QBs “fallers” in this game, by any means, but it wasn’t perfect despite a great second quarter from Johnson.