With preseason game number one in the books, the Denver Broncos can only hope that their season ends in the same stadium it started in for 2025. Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, will be home to Super Bowl 60 this season. The last time they hosted the Super Bowl was Super Bowl 50 in 2015, and the winner of that milestone championship was the Denver Broncos. That team was led more by the defense and not by quarterback Peyton Manning, playing in the last game of his career. They also went into the postseason 12-5, just two games better than the 2024 Broncos.

This time around, the Broncos have built their team around an improved defense, using their first pick in the NFL Draft on a bookend cornerback, Jahdae Barron. He will play opposite the Defensive Player of the Year, Pat Surtain II. Two key elements added to the defense came from the San Francisco 49ers, with ILB Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga. Star RT Mike McGlinchey also returns for a visit with his old team, now in his third season with the Broncos. The homecoming for the starting trio received mixed reviews, but the Broncos walked away with a 30-9 victory to win their first preseason game of the season.

First, it was the 49ers’ second team taking it to the Broncos’ first team unit, scoring the first nine points of the game. Chunk plays were gained on the Broncos’ highly anticipated defense, with the 49ers scoring on the opening drive. San Francisco backup quarterback Mac Jones, who started the game,  hit rookie wide receiver Jordan Watkins for a 50-yard connection. That set up the opening touchdown for running back Patrick Taylor, Jr., with the 5-yard score.

Going down 9-0 in the first quarter, the Broncos would respond with 30 unanswered points in the  remaining three quarters. Bo Nix would exit at the start of the second quarter after posting a field goal drive by kicker Wil Lutz of 42 yards. Nix would finish with just 31 yards on six passes and gave up a safety for two points to the 49ers.

Back-up quarterback Jarrett Stidham would come in for Nix with an impressive performance for the second and third quarters. Stidham connected on 14 of his 15 passes for 136 yards, a 144.0 quarterback rating, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Stidham led the team in both passing and rushing against San Francisco.

“I thought our team competed really well,” said quarterback Bo Nix after the game. “It was fun to see guys get out there and fly around. As the game progressed, we found ways to score points, and our defense did a great job. No matter who was in there, they got stops and got turnovers, which is big and added some excitement to the game, some momentum for us offensively, and as a team. It was good to see us get out there, score points, put drives together, field goals, touchdowns, whatever it was. We just kind of made plays when we needed to make them, and overall, our defense just played really good.”

Newcomer Trent Sherfield had a spectacular catch for a touchdown for the Broncos’ second score in the game, a 36-yard catch in the end zone, getting both feet down before falling out of bounds. The play was reviewed and upheld by the officials for the touchdown. The catch came right after Sherfield completed a 19-yard catch, also before going out of bounds. Sheffield led all receivers in the game with 76 yards receiving.

“He’s been a great surprise, a great addition for us as a whole,” Nix said. “He adds an element of physicality and experience. We have a young receiver room, so he adds that element that he has been there, done that, seen a lot of football. He made an incredible play today, actually several plays today and then finished it off with the touchdown. So he’s just steady eddy. He goes over there and does what he’s supposed to do, and he makes the catch. He makes it look easy, and that’s what’s going to be good because he’s going to be a physical guy. He can go in there and block, and he is also going to make plays catching the ball. That’s obviously what you want as a receiver. You want to see the guy go out there and make catches and he’s done a really good job of that.”

Other standout performances in the preseason opener went to the defense, with three interceptions and three sacks. Running back Tyler Badie led all rushers with 32 yards on five carries. J.K. Dobbins, the projected starter, did not play. And rookie running back RJ Harvey got the start, finishing with seven carries for 25 yards. Audric Estime had the most carries with eight for 21 yards for the Broncos.

“I think this year’s team has a chance to be, but I think the biggest thing we always talk about, you’re not ever picking up where you left off, but I do think this year’s team has a chance to be better,” Head Coach Sean Payton told the Denver Sports Report. “We’ve added depth at certain positions we didn’t have a year ago. We were in the largest cap deficit in dead money in the history of maybe all of sports, but certainly in the NFL, with around $90 million. We’re not in that position this year; it’s two thirds of an operating budget, but this team’s going to have to do that. Same amount of games, one game more, they’re going to write this chapter and we’re going to all be here for it. And our job’s to try to accomplish that, but we’re right at the beginning with a lot of work ahead of us.”

Saturday will be the only preseason game in Denver, with the Arizona Cardinals visiting town, and the Arizona Diamondbacks playing at Coors Field on the same day. Game time is 7:30 PM MT.

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