Let's talk about some of the primary overreactions from folks around the NFL after the Broncos beat the 49ers in preseason Week 1. Anytime a team largely doesn't play all that well but still puts up 30 points, you really can't complain.
Getting out to a slow start in the preseason against the San Francisco 49ers, the Denver Broncos fell behind by nine points but then proceeded to score the final 30 of the contest in one of the more interesting games you'll see in the preseason.
Let's drum up some overreactions from the game and talk about them right here.
Preseason overreactions from Broncos vs. 49ers in Week 1
Overreaction no. 1: The Broncos' starting offense will take a step back in 2025
The Denver Broncos' starting unit on offense definitely struggled a bit, as Bo Nix did miss a couple of throws and was also forced into a safety. Against a 49ers' defense with a ton of young and inexperienced players, you would have loved to see the offense play a lot better, but this is preseason Week 1, so it's quite early. If you look at how the Broncos' offense came on as the 2024 NFL Season progresses, you'd probably understand why this unit started slowly on Saturday. All in all, the offense will be fine when the real-thing begins and when all of the starters are consistently out there.
Overreaction no. 2: Kris Abrams-Draine should be starting in the secondary
Second-year CB Kris Abrams-Draine had himself quite a game, catching the attention of former Broncos' CB great Chris Harris Jr and even current teammate John Franklin-Myers:
He so cold😂 https://t.co/rE2X2NH4fv
— John Franklin-Myers (@J_FranklinMyers) August 10, 2025
Abrams-Draine played well in limited action in the 2024 NFL Season and did play well in his preseason debut for the Denver Broncos, but there are just too many talented players in the secondary, so KAD may end up being a primary backup in the room and could see snaps close to Ja'Quan McMillian, who isn't really trending in the right direction.
Overreaction no. 3: The Broncos' starting defense isn't any better than 2024
I cannot lie here; it was disappointing to see the Denver Broncos' starting defense get worked by the San Francisco 49ers' offense to open up the game, but the defense was probably in more of a 'vanilla' state given that it's preseason and major injuries are wanting to be avoided, so I would not worry at all. The unit is returning a majority of their starters from 2024, and when Week 1 officially kicks off, this unit is going to kick it up a notch and will be just fine, so let's not put too much into what we saw from the starting unit at the very beginning of the game.