“Well, it’s preseason and we want to win in everything we do,” said Head Coach Sean Payton at the conclusion of the final preseason game in New Orleans on Saturday. After the 28-19 win over the Saints, the Broncos finished the exhibition season with a perfect 3-0 record, one of four teams to achieve this feat in the NFL. In the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders did not win a game in the preseason.

While the final game of the preseason was primarily to get a final look at players trying to make the team, starting quarterback Bo Nix and the first unit went a little longer than expected in the first half. A total of six field goals were scored in the first half between the two teams. And it wasn’t until Bo Nix connected with Courtland Sutton for a 19-yard touchdown catch that the starters came out.

From there, it was the Ehlinger-Estime show the remainder of the way for the Broncos, with Sam Ehlinger at quarterback and Audric Estime at running back. Ehlinger would finish strong with 198 yards passing, on 22 completions, with 25 yards rushing on six carries. He had one touchdown pass and one interception in two and a half quarters of play. Running back Audric Estime would get the majority of the rushing attempts with eight carries for 45 yards and a 5-yard touchdown run.

“To make the team isn’t up to me, it’s up to the coaching staff, and it’s honestly up to God,” second-year running back Estime said after the game. “I feel like I did what I needed to do to put myself in position to be on it. But (at the) end of the day, Sean knows what’s best for this team. And I’m putting my trust in God, and I feel like I did what I needed to do. I am proud of my progression; I definitely got better from last year to this year. I definitely have progressed a lot, and it’s all you can do, progress in this league.”

Quarterback Bo Nix, who didn’t play in Week Two of the preseason, got his most playing time in Saturday’s game before the start of the season. Nix finished with 10 completions on 14 passes, for 110 yards, with one touchdown, including a 43-yarder. He talked about the importance of executing plays in the preseason after the game.

“You just want to find answers to your plays, because a lot of those plays are going to show back up and you’ll be able to run it again against a different look, well, similar, because you already got it in a preseason game,” said Nix. “It’s natural reactions and also see what guys get out there and naturally do, just see how they naturally move and get open. And its good to see that as well, because you’re not always going to have structured plays, or you’re going to have this timing, and you know this guy is going to be there. Sometimes things go rogue and you (are) going to have to make it work and these preseason games allow you to see that process.”

With the preseason games now over, the next order of business for the Broncos was to finalize the 53-man roster to start the regular season.

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