The Denver Broncos beat the Atlanta Falcons on Friday in their first preseason game of the 2026 season. There were certainly some players to watch out for, as the team does have some fun position battles here and there.
But with how loaded this roster is, there isn't a ton of wiggle room. And as we saw for much of the game on Friday, Denver is oozing with talent all over the place.
As is common during the regular season, let's dive into some winners and losers from the Broncos first preseason action.
Denver Broncos winners and losers after Week 1 preseason action against the Falcons
Winner: The defense
The defense shutout the Falcons in the first half and simply more than held their own during the game. The defensive line got a ton of pressure and really didn't allow the Falcons' quarterbacks to do much of anything. While this was surely expected, it was nice to see the dominance continuing into a new season.
Winner: Davis Webb
Offensive coordinator Davis Webb had himself a solid first showing. We saw the potential flash in the first half especially, as the Broncos put up 24 total points and 17 points from the offense. The Broncos got under center quite a bit and had some chunk plays through the air.
And it really felt like the sequencing of the plays and the entire operation was well run with Webb calling the plays. While there will surely be some growing pains, as he is calling plays for the first time in the NFL full-time, his debut was quite good.
Loser: Penalties
The Broncos had some penalties getting in the way of things against the Falcons. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey got hit with a couple of penalties on one drive, and the special teams was also guilty of some as well. With the team having Super Bowl-caliber potential in 2026, silly, drive-regressing penalties just cannot happen.
The Broncos had the third-most penalties in the NFL last year, so this could end up being one of the biggest areas for improvement going forward. This was an issue last year and did spill into the first action of 2026.
Winner: Jonah Coleman
Jonah Coleman got a handful of carries in the first half for the Broncos, and boy did he make the most of them. While nothing really made a huge difference in the game, Coleman showed some pretty awesome tackle-breaking and quickness. He also did show some spark running between the tackles, which is precisely what this team was missing when J.K. Dobbins went down.
Winner: Jahdae Barron
2025 first-round pick Jahdae Barron got a ton of run in this game. He definitely made the most of his snaps and did have a 98-yard pick-six on a tipped pass deflection from linebacker Karene Reid. Barron was buried in the Broncos secondary for most of his rookie season, and while the talent is there, it really wasn't on display that much last year.
But Barron is definitely someone who could potentially be a long-term solution on the outside or in the slot, depending on how the Broncos approach contract talks with Riley Moss and Ja'Quan McMillian. Barron's first preseason game in 2026 had some notable moments that make him an obvious winner in this one.
Loser: Matt Peart
Backup tackle Matt Peart didn't exactly have a strong showing against the Falcons:
Matt Peart will be lucky to make it on the flight home at this point.
— Sayre Bedinger (@SayreBedinger) August 15, 2026
He had a false start that forced the Broncos to try a long FG instead of going for 4th-and-3, and the snap was botched.
Just had an issue getting on the field for FG, which was then a rushed operation, missed
Little things like this may not show up big-time during a preseason game, but these are things that backups simply can't do, as their roster spots are already on shaky ground. Peart's mistakes in Week 1 of the preseason make him a 'loser' following this Week 1 showdown.
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