ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In a do-or-die situation, the Broncos’ defense came up big.
At the end of the Denver’s Saturday training camp practice — which featured a variety of scrimmage-like situations — the team worked on a high-pressure end-of-game scenario.
A day after practicing an end-of-half situation, each of Denver’s three lineups got a crack at a late-game try. And holding a 6-0 lead against an offense that started at the plus 44-yard line with 53 seconds remaining in the game, the Broncos’ defense found a way to make big plays.
“We just need to get a stop,” said cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian of the defense’s mentality. “We need to bow up. [We need to] make sure they don’t get in the end zone.”
On a day in which Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix each received opportunities to work with the first-team offense, Stidham took the reins first in the final-second scenario. Denver’s first-team defense, though, was swarming. The unit earned a pair of would-be sacks and forced an incompletion to start the drive — and despite a fourth-and-18 conversion from Stidham to Marvin Mims Jr., the defense deflected a pass as time ran out to earn the win.
In Nix’s attempt leading the second-team offense, the defense came up with a pair of pass breakups to earn a fourth-and-2 stop and seal another successful period. Finally, despite a nice completion from Zach Wilson to Troy Franklin for a 31-yard gain, an ensuing fourth-down pass attempt into the end zone fell incomplete.
“That’s always good to see,” McMillian said of the defense’s performance. “That just tells you how much work we’ve put in. We just try to keep getting better each and every day. … We’re all doing our job and just trying to keep getting better.”
‘A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TYPE [OF] PRACTICE’
In addition to the end-of-game reps, the Broncos also ran through a series of different 11-on-11 periods, situational practice and special teams reps.
“We got regular down and distance, we got third down, we got midfield, we got red zone,” Head Coach Sean Payton said. “A lot of special teams work.”
Payton said the Broncos intentionally designed “a completely different type [of] practice to get a lot of different situations,” and Denver’s head coach said he was pleased with how the practice went.
“I was pleased with how they handled today,” Payton said. “I was pleased with the focus today.”
Payton described the action as “real good work” for Denver, and he said there was “a lot of good on both sides of the ball.”
… During the Broncos’ various situational work, Denver’s defensive front provided consistent pressure. Baron Browning and McMillian were among the players who would have recorded tackles for loss in a game situation, while John Franklin-Myers, Dondrea Tillman and Jaylon Allen likely would have posted sacks. On certain other plays, the defenders also provided enough pressure to flush the quarterback from the pocket.
“I think we’re going to have a chance to really see it starting next weekend with Indianapolis and then we get into these preseason games,” Payton said of the pressure from Denver’s defense. “There were a handful of sacks that the officials let go. Look, we’re trying to get something valuable out of a rep. So we see those when we watch the tape.”
… In red-zone action, Nix avoided pressure and rolled out to deliver a touchdown strike to Courtland Sutton, while Wilson delivered a well-placed ball to Brandon Johnson for a score. Stidham found Michael Bandy for a touchdown of his own, but a flag was thrown on the play.
… Asked about Nix’s ability to avoid pressure, Payton said he believed the rookie has a “pretty good pocket sense.” Nix showed that ability on a midfield play, as he stepped up with Alex Singleton providing pressure to deliver a precise pass to Sutton for a first down.
“[He] doesn’t take a lot of sacks,” Payton said. “I think he knows when the plays over [and it’s] time to go. And then I think he can make plays when he’s going. I used to say this all the time, that the sack numbers are a reflection more on the quarterback than on the offensive line. … [Drew] Brees was one of those guys — he was a tough sack. The ball came out. And I think Bo has traits like that.”
… Payton announced veteran cornerback Levi Wallace left practice with a hamstring injury.
