Denver Broncos football is officially back with the team taking the field and notching a preseason victory against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon. The Broncos' preseason debut was also the NFL debut of rookie quarterback Bo Nix, the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and a player who has rejuvenated some hope and optimism in Broncos Country.
After getting a second watch through of the game, which players really stood out for Denver? Who were the top winners and unfortunate "losers" from the game against the Colts?
Biggest winners and losers from Broncos preseason win vs. Colts
Broncos winner: Bo Nix, QB
After a bit of a shaky start, Bo Nix emerged as one of the biggest winners not only for the Broncos in this game but from Week 1 of the preseason overall. Nix was not exactly the most beloved quarterback prospect in this draft class because he was perceived as too old or too boring or too limited -- whatever.
What we saw from Nix against the Colts was an outstanding rookie preseason debut, especially with the way he was able to bounce back from making some early mistakes. Nix had a rough throw to Greg Dulcich that was late and nearly resulted in an interception as well as a botched snap exchange, but he also made some incredible throws. The throw moving to his left to hit Courtland Sutton, the throw to Josh Reynolds in the end zone (which Reynolds didn't catch), changing arm angles to convert third downs, and the ball he threw to Marvin Mims for a touchdown...
We saw Nix's mobility on display. We saw his outstanding command of the offense. We saw him convert third downs and turn almost every drive into a score (if not for Lucas Krull's fumble). Broncos Country has every right to be pumped right now.
Broncos loser: Samaje Perine, RB
The Denver Broncos running backs were like an episode of Oprah gone wrong in this game against the Colts at times...You get a mistake, you get a mistake, you get a mistake.
For rookies Audric Estimé and Blake Watson, it was a fumble amidst a pretty strong overall performance. For Samaje Perine, it was a horrible drop that resulted in a Kenny Moore interception for the Colts. Perine's pass-catching abilities are supposed to be his calling card. If he has any issues with drops (he had some fumbling issues last year), his roster spot could be in serious jeopardy.
Broncos winner(s): Tim Patrick & Greg Dulcich
For the majority of the last two years, we haven't seen either wide receiver Tim Patrick or tight end Greg Dulcich. These are two players who have been expected to be big parts of the Denver Broncos' offense, but injuries have obviously prevented them from making the type of impact everyone hoped to see.
It was fantastic to see both Patrick and Dulcich back out there on the field for the Broncos, each of them catching a pass and each of them getting up after taking pretty big hits.
Broncos loser(s): Mike McGlinchey & Garett Bolles, tackle
The penalties from both Mike McGlinchey and Garett Bolles in their relatively limited work in this game were slightly discouraging, to say the least. These two guys are two of the highest-paid players on the team, and you expect the highest-paid players on the team to make the fewest mental errors.
McGlinchey has become infamously known among Broncos fans as "McFlinchey" because of his false start issues, which reared their ugly head in this game. We also heard the infamous "Holding, 72, offense" in this game as Bolles was caught after getting beat to the inside.
The Broncos need these guys to be outstanding this season. Penalties can't be tolerated.
Broncos winner: Thomas Incoom, EDGE
If the Denver Broncos keep five guys off the edge this year on their roster, Thomas Incoom has a pretty good shot at making it again. The former undrafted free agent made the roster last year as a rookie and he's put together a pretty strong offseason so far in 2024.
Incoom finished the game against the Colts with three tackles and a QB hit, but it was his work on special teams that consistently stood out. You want to see him get to the quarterback and make plays as well, but if Incoom is going to make the roster, he's going to have to impress in kick coverage. And I thought he did just that against the Colts. We saw no. 53 down there making plays in the kicking game and he was routinely around the ball. His roster chances seem to be getting better by the day.
Broncos loser(s): Guys fighting for roster spots on the defensive line
We didn't see a lot of great work from the backups to the backups on the defensive line in this game for the Denver Broncos. Namely, we didn't see enough from players like Matt Henningsen and Elijah Garcia. The Broncos might have one or two spots available for defensive linemen on the roster behind Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, DJ Jones, and Malcolm Roach. Players like Henningsen and Garcia need to make a splash every opportunity they can get.
Those two guys were outshined by Jordan Jackson, who started the game for the Broncos and actually made a nice impact. He may be having an underrated offseason and deserves some credit for being a standout in this particular game. But as the game wore along, the defensive front seemed to wear down a bit as well.
Broncos winner(s): Riley Moss & Damarri Mathis, cornerback
We didn't see a ton from Riley Moss and Damarri Mathis in this game, but I think we saw enough to be pretty encouraged by their performance. The Broncos' defense didn't allow the Colts' starters to move the ball into scoring range on either of their possessions, and both Mathis and Moss made a couple of nice plays.
Mathis should have had an interception off of Anthony Richardson but couldn't reel the ball in. Moss finished with a pair of tackles and looked solid in coverage. Moss actually also had a play in which he was slapping his hands together in frustration because he felt like he should have picked the ball off.
It was a strong debut for these two guys who are competing for the starting job opposite Pat Surtain II.