The Denver Broncos suffered a 17-18 loss against the Arizona Cardinals last Friday night in the team's preseason debut. While the result of the game ultimately doesn't matter, the way we reached that result certainly does. The Broncos didn't play an overly spectacular game against the Cardinals in any phase.
Offensively, the highlights were produced by the first and third units, and it took the starters a bit to get things going. Defensively, the Broncos gave up a game-winning drive in the final minutes of the game and the pass rush was not getting home off the edge frequently enough against backup linemen. On special teams, we all saw the missed kicks and Riley Dixon's horrendous punts.
It wasn't all bad, of course, but there are definitely some players who need to bounce back this coming week to give themselves a fighting chance at a roster spot or an actual role this coming season.
3 Denver Broncos players who need to bounce back in second preseason game
1. Both kickers (Elliott Fry, Brett Maher)
There's absolutely no question that the kickers have to be better after the abysmal showing we saw on Friday night. It was so bad that the same Denver Broncos fans who had been clamoring for the team to cut Brandon McManus the last couple of seasons were longing for his return to the team. McManus was one of the worst kickers in the league last season, in terms of field goal percentage (3 missed kicks inside of 40 yards along with two missed extra points) but what we saw on Friday was borderline incompetent.
Elliott Fry and Brett Maher each missed their first field goal attempt before Fry nailed a 55-yard kick just before halftime. Maher made an extra point but had his next field goal attempt blocked.
Simply put, Broncos Country almost unanimously wrote these two guys off after the first preseason game. We'll see what happens as the preseason trucks along, but there's no doubt that the kickers have to be better, and fast.
2. Jarrett Stidham, QB
The Denver Broncos gave Jarrett Stidham a two-year deal in free agency worth $10 million in total money. As of the team's first preseason game, that looks like an irresponsible way to spend the Walton-Penner Ownership Group's money. Stidham was awful in the Denver Broncos' preseason opener, completing just five of his 15 passes with an interception.
He threw for just 50 yards in the game total and while we did see some interesting things from Stidham using his legs and running the ball, we expected far more from him as a passer. The Broncos' top two quarterbacks were pressured an absurd amount in the game against Arizona, so perhaps Stidham was struggling from that vantage point. But the fact remains, we all expected this guy to be much better after all of the offseason hype.
Sean Payton said that Stidham had the tools and trajectory of a possible starter in the league. Chris Simms of NBC Sports went on record saying that Stidham is one of the top 32 QBs in the NFL right now.
Not to disrespect the Arizona Cardinals, but their roster is so bad that I would have expected even Stidham and the Broncos backups to carve them up a little bit. That obviously didn't happen.
Stidham desperately needs to bounce back against the 49ers this coming week and it just so happens he played probably the best game of his pro career against this team last season. Albeit, that was significantly different with Stidham throwing to the likes of Davante Adams, but it was also much higher stakes.
And that was the game that likely sold Sean Payton and the Broncos that Stidham could perhaps do that on a consistent basis. I think we're fixing to see Stidham have a big bounce-back game against the 49ers this week, and he needs it.
3. Christopher Allen, EDGE
The Denver Broncos' edge position has floated between being a major question mark, possibly having a ton of upside, and being a major question mark once again.
The team certainly has a loaded group here on paper:
Frank Clark
Randy Gregory
Baron Browning
Jonathon Cooper
Nik Bonitto
Aaron Patrick
Christopher Allen
Marcus Haynes
Thomas Incoom
Christopher Allen was someone fans were particularly eager to see this season coming back from injury. Allen was one of the team's top UDFA pickups last offseason and the Broncos effectively gave him a medical redshirt year in 2022 to get healthy from an injury he suffered early in the 2021 season at Alabama.
He's undoubtedly going to be a little bit rusty, but he finished the game against Arizona with no tackles and a QB hit. The QB hit is certainly promising, but given the Broncos' current situation off the edge, we need to see a much bigger performance out of Allen in order to make a case for the final 53-man roster.
Frank Clark didn't play. Baron Browning won't be back until October. Nik Bonitto suffered a hip injury. Aaron Patrick didn't play. The Broncos are bleeding at EDGE just a little bit and it's a golden opportunity for Christopher Allen, one he can't afford to squander.
Allen was once projected as a possible early Day 3 pick by some NFL Draft prognosticators. He has speed off the edge and led the SEC in tackles for loss back in 2020. The talent is definitely there, but Allen is running out of time to prove to the Broncos that he can contribute in a meaningful way.