Baby steps forward for the Broncos in second preseason game

In a game that seemed to last five hours - thank you refs - the Denver Broncos lost 22-14 to the Seattle Seahawks as Paxton Lynch out-dueled Drew Lock in the battle of the tall, big-armed Denver draft picks. A pair of injuries on offense and a mess of penalties overshadowed a solid game from Drew Lock, the starting O-line and the first-team defense. We are also still left waiting and hoping for someone to flash at the wide receiver position and a rookie Tight End to get in shape.

Three things we liked from Preseason Game 2

#1) Drew Lock took a baby step forward and looked much more comfortable in and out of the pocket. He through a TD, an INT and finished with over 180 yards passing. Though it was far from perfect, the kid looked infinitely better than the frightened panicky rookie we saw in the Hall of Fame game. We can hope that he keeps moving in the right direction and with each step forward we will all undoubtedly exhale a sigh of relief that maybe, just maybe, Elway has found the future at QB.

#2) The starting defense did what they should have done and kept Seattle from putting points on the board. They got decent pressure, made stops when they needed to and most importantly, the corner backs looked really good. Isaac Yiadom and Devante Bausby had some nice pass breakups and look set to be the #3 and #4 CBs respectively. If those two - and safety Sua Cravens - can have a good year, this defense could be something special.

#3) The O-line made plenty of mistakes but the starting run game looked solid and they provided the highlight of the game with a 50-yard run from Royce Freeman.

Dalton Risner looks like a beast and there are reports from the Broncos defenders that the rookie LG and veteran LT, Garrett Bolles, are already gelling and performing well as a two-man unit. Let’s hope that spreads to the rest of the group. Phillip Lindsay looked like he had his old wiggle back and showed signs of being that explosive back that made it to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season in 2018.

Three things we didn’t like

#1) Austin Fort looked to suffer a serious knee injury, Jeff Heuerman and Jake Butt are already sidelined - as always - with injuries and Noah Fant looks out of shape. We were totally hyped when the Tight End from Iowa was picked in the first round of the 2019 draft but the guy looks like he’s running in sand. He ran a five-yard hook route in the first quarter and looked totally gassed. Yikes. Thank goodness there’s a month left until the season starts.

#2) The depth on the team looks....not great. When Paxton Lynch owns your third, fourth or even fifth-team defense, there’s a problem. Secondary, running backs and D-line depth looks solid but, that’s it. TEs barely exist at this point, WRs haven’t shown up at all this preseason, ILB is a nightmare with Todd Davis and Josey Jewell injured and even with them playing it doesn’t feel like a position of strength. The bad drafts of the past are coming back to haunt the team and let’s hope this is the least season it’s a problem.

#3) Joe Flacco’s face is so bleh. A stupid thing not to like but the lack of emotion is almost ridiculous. Come on guy...you can smile or yell or something!

Real #3) Wide receivers yet again do absolutely nothing in a game. Sutton, Hamilton and Patrick - likely three of the top four wideouts ended the night with two catches and 22 yards. Our #1 WR, Sutton ended up with 0.0.0. This position is really starting to look like a weakness. Let’s hope it gets better through the preseason.

Now, what do we want to see against the 49ers?

#1) Stay healthy

#2) Somebody, anybody in the receiving corp step up with a big game.

#3) Whatever band-aid/overweight rookie they put in at ILB and TE needs to show up and show out.