Broncos game recap: 33-13 loss against the Packers.

The Denver Broncos were very soundly defeated by the Green Bay Packers Friday night, losing 33-13. Bo Nix’s touchdown drive and Jaylen Waddle’s debut softened the blow for the Broncos faithful. 

“I can’t think of one area we outplayed them, honestly,” Sean Payton, Broncos head coach, had to say about the performance in the post-game presser. 

Nix’s return to play was successful as the quarterback showed no signs of being slowed by the ankle injury. In Nix’s two drives, he went 6 of 9 for 76 yards and a 21-yard touchdown pass to RJ Harvey, with his second drive ending in a successful field goal for Denver. 

Waddle, in his Denver debut, made a quick impact when he connected with Nix for a 35-yard gain to set up the eventual touchdown pass. 

Nix had high praise for the receiver in his post-game presser, saying, “That was probably my strongest emotion after hitting him… You just can’t really explain the type of player he is.”

That was about the end of the positives for Denver. Early on, Denver’s cornerback Riley Moss was injured recovering what initially appeared to be a forced fumble. Further review revealed that the receiver was down by contact. “We’ll see.” Sean Payton said when asked how Moss was doing postgame. 

Denver’s backups were thoroughly dominated throughout the rest of the game. Jarett Stidham struggled, finishing the game going 9 of 15 for 82 yards and an interception. Denver’s kick return unit gave up a big return to Packers running back Pierre Strong Jr. 

The standout player was Packers rookie kicker Trey Smack. Smack provides hope for Packers fans, as last season, former kicker Brandon McManus struggled, going only 80% on his field goal attempts, including some crucial misses late in the season. Smack went perfect on extra points and perfect on 4 field goals with a long of 59 yards. He ended up accounting for 15 of the Packers’ points.

The only other Bronco of note was Mr. Irrelevant, Red Murdock. The rookie linebacker led the team with 7 tackles in the game. This comes off of a solid showing in week 1 of the preseason.

Payton and the team now look forward to week 3 of the preseason. Once again at home, the Broncos will face off against the Vikings at 7 pm MT this coming Friday.