The Denver Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers 27-2 in Week 2 of NFL preseason at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday night.
The Packers rested most of their starters, but the Broncos opted to play starters for the first two series of the game on both sides of the ball.
Denver rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to running back Javonte Williams on the team’s opening drive, but the play was called back because Nix stepped over the line of scrimmage before his throw. That penalty left Denver with a 4th-and-7 at Green Bay’s 18-yard line and the Broncos opted for a 37-yard Wil Lutz field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
On his second series, Nix led an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown pass to Tim Patrick to increase the lead to 10-0. Nix finished the game 8-of-9 passing for 80 yards, one touchdown pass and no turnovers. He also rushed three times for 12 yards.
Tim Patrick has waited a long time for that Mile High Salute. pic.twitter.com/lnH6ewicwC
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) August 19, 2024
Nix exited the game after two drives and Jarrett Stidham took over with the second-string offense. Following a Keidron Smith interception that set up Denver with good field position, Stidham rushed for a nine-yard touchdown to give the Broncos a 17-0 lead going into halftime.
+ 6️⃣ 🙌@Jarrett_Stidham | #GBvsDEN pic.twitter.com/9fzdCaanjI
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 19, 2024
In the second half, Stidham had a pass batted at the line of scrimmage and then intercepted by the Packers. Stidham finished the game 7-of-11 passing for 65 yards with nine rushing yards, one score and one turnover.
Zach Wilson took over later in the third quarter after Jonah Elliss recorded a strip-sack. That fumble was recovered by Denver and led to a 39-yard Lutz field goal to make it 20-0 late in the third quarter.
After being backed up by an Alex Forsyth holding penalty, the Broncos surrendered their first and only points of the night when Wilson was sacked in his own end zone for a safety, 20-2.
Later in the fourth quarter, Wilson connected on a seven-yard screen pass to running back Tyler Badie for a touchdown to extend the lead to 27-2, which ended up being the final score.
Tyler Badie takes the screen pass from Zach Wilson in for six!
📺: #GBvsDEN on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/F3la9GCDHZ— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2024
Up next for the Broncos is a preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 25. After that, Denver will have until Aug. 27 to trim the roster from 91 players down to 53. Broncos coach Sean Payton said last week there are about 9-10 players on the roster bubble.
