The Broncos lost their preseason opener on Friday night, 18-17, as the Arizona Cardinals scored a touchdown with just seconds left in the game to steal the victory. Now many will say that it's "just preseason" and that much of the takes that have followed this game concerning the Broncos are "overreactions", but I'm not having it.
The Broncos deserve the negative press until they can do something to change it, even if it is in an exhibition game. This has been a bad football team for some time now and this game did nothing to change the thought of that continuing.
The team will take the field this Saturday evening at Levi's Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers. Following that, the team will have one more preseason game before the season gets ready to start.
Before that, this team needs to show fans some things before the games start to matter, even if it is just a snippet of these things.
Russell Wilson still needs to show improvement
There is the idea that perhaps the criticism of Russell Wilson is starting to go a bit too far, but how unwarranted is it?
Wilson is being paid like one of the top quarterbacks in the league and he hasn't come close to playing like one for some time now. In the game against the Cardinals, it's certainly unfair to say he was terrible, but it's also a little bit ridiculous to say he was good.
Whether it's a Russ problem, a team problem, an offensive scheme problem, he just does not look good on the field anymore.
In these next two games, which he'll likely play quite sparingly, we can't see passes getting batted back into his face at the line of scrimmage. Or jittery feet as he drops back to pass or throws that go nowhere near the intended target.
Jarrett Stidham had a miserable preseason game and Wilson's starting job is not in jeopardy but if he is not markedly better this season than he was last year, he won't be the starter past 2023.
The offensive line has to look stronger
Perhaps all of the blame can't just be thrown at the feet of Wilson. The offensive line has been pretty bad too.
This is a spot the Broncos heavily invested in this offseason and it simply can't fail, not if Wilson is going to improve. But against the Cardinals, the line looked porous. The pass protection was not good and Wilson was often rushed.
On paper, the Broncos have a good starting offensive line and those players need to look better against the 49ers, particularly Garett Bolles, who is coming back from a major injury last season.
It is tough to win in this league for any team without good, consistent offensive line play and what was put on display in the game against Arizona is not going to cut it this season.
Javonte Williams
Head coach Sean Payton has stated that Javonte Williams will play against the 49ers. How many carries he will get remains to be seen, but this news should be seen as both encouraging and a tad nerve-wracking.
We haven't seen Williams run the ball for the Broncos since Week 4 of last season. He seems to have made great progress recovering from a torn ACL, especially if he is ready to play in this game.
While Broncos fans may be nervous to see the team's No.1 running back playing in this preseason game, it's something that we need to see.
Will Williams have the same level of explosion? The same quickness and cutting ability? These are questions that must be answered so it would be good to see him get a healthy dose of action in this game.
No player on the Broncos had more than six carries against the Cardinals, so that should be the magic number. But it will be good for him to get out there and test himself against real competition.
Kickers that can make field goals
The Broncos are going to be second guessed all season if the kickers are as bad as they were in the first preseason game. They cut long-time kicker Brandon McManus (understandably so) to bring in the likes of Elliott Fry and Brett Maher.
It's fine if you are going to cut an expensive kicker who may or may not butt heads with members of the coaching staff and front office, but it's not a great idea to bring in guys who are shaky at best at kicking on the professional stage.
Fry has already seen his time come to an end with the team, which should be a surprise to nobody, but Maher can't be too far behind.
Maher missed both of his field-goal attempts (one was blocked) against the Cardinals and there is absolutely no reason for the team to have much confidence in him. If he misses two field goals in this next game, Payton will have no choice but to go in a different direction but I contend, like many in Broncos Country likely do, that the team's Week 1 kicker is not currently on the roster.
The Broncos and 49ers will kick off at 6:30 pm MT on Saturday from San Francisco.