The Denver Broncos played their starters to kickoff the team's second preseason game, which was a home tilt against the Green Bay Packers. Denver and Green Bay both traded touchdown and field goal drives to kick things off, but after that, it was all Packers.
The Broncos backups notably struggled in this one, and the game really just left a bad taste in your mouth. Sure, preseason losses are far from the end of the world, but where the Broncos seem to be better than most teams in the league is depth, but that was far from the case here in preseason Week 2.
Denver also had a preseason win streak snapped, and with just one preseason game left, this blowout loss seemed to come at just the right time.
Denver Broncos probably needed a tough loss like this...
This might seem odd, but the Broncos probably needed to get punched in the mouth by another team. That hadn't happened in a while, as I'm not even sure you could consider the AFC Championship Game loss much of a loss, given how back and forth that game was.
The Broncos had lost in blowout fashion to the Jacksonville Jaguars near the end of the regular season, which snapped the team's win streak, and as much as teams want to avoid losing at all costs, a loss like this could force the team and the coaches to potentially reevaulate certain things.
There doesn't need to be wholesale changes or anything, but not many would have seen this type of loss coming. With the regular season beginning in about three weeks, the Broncos now have a taste of how much losing stinks for 2026.
Perhaps this can also be a thing where players want to avoid this type of feeling again, as it was a sloppy game all around, and head coach Sean Payton seemed quite irritated during his media availability.
There are other very competent, solid teams in the NFL, and it was crazy to think that the Broncos were going to continue stacking preseason wins without a bump in the road. This blowout loss doesn't impact the regular season at all, but it does leave the team with a sour taste in their mouths that they can work to wash out in their final preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, and in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs when the regular season begins.
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