The Denver Broncos went on the road and defeated the Indianapolis Colts 34-30 in their preseason opener on Sunday afternoon.
Denver’s defense started the game by forcing a three-and-out going up against most of Indy’s starters, including quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham started the game with a pair of completions, but Denver’s opening drive stalled after false start penalties committed by Courtland Sutton and Mike McGlinchey. The Broncos’ defense then forced another three-and-out.
On Denver’s second drive, Stidham threw an accurate pass to Samaje Perine, but the running back bobbled it up in the air and the ball was intercepted by Kenny Moore. It went down as an interception for Stidham, but the turnover was not the quarterback’s fault.
Set up with good field position after that turner, the Colts went on to take a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 35-yard field goal. Bo Nix then entered on the team’s third drive to play with the first-team offense. The rookie’s first two passes were incompletions, then Nix connected on a 22-yard toss to Courtland Sutton on his third pass. He later hit Josh Reynolds on an 11-yard throw. Nix’s next two passes fell incomplete and Denver settled for a 41-yard Wil Lutz field goal to tie the game 3-3 early in the second quarter.
Indy missed a field goal attempt on its ensuing drive. The Broncos then put in their second-string offense on Nix’s second drive. Nix utilized his legs on his second drive, rushing twice for 17 yards. He helped lead the offense down to the one-yard line before throwing a touchdown pass to Marvin Mims to take a 10-3 lead late in the second quarter.
The Colts went on to score on their next drive on a one-yard Evan Hull touchdown run to tie it up 10-10 with 1:45 remaining until halftime. Denver quickly coughed it up on the next drive as tight end Lucas Krull fumbled a Nix pass and Indy recovered the ball at the Broncos’ 16-yard line.
Indy immediately gave the ball back to Denver as safety Keidron Smith grabbed an interception on a Sam Ehlinger pass. A 29-yard pass interference penalty helped the Broncos quickly move the ball down to the 22-yard line before stalling and settling for a 27-yard Lutz field goal to make it 13-10 going into halftime.
Denver started the second half with a 56-yard drive that ended with a two-yard Audric Estime touchdown run that extended the lead to 20-10. After the Broncos’ defense forced another punt, quarterback Zach Wilson ended the game with the third-string offense midway through the third quarter.
Estime fumbled on Wilson’s first drive and the Colts recovered the ball and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-17. Denver’s offense later made up for it with Tyler Badie’s 11-yard touchdown run that extended the lead to 27-17 late in the third quarter.
Indy scored a rushing touchdown on its next drive to cut the lead to 27-24 early in the fourth quarter. Later in the fourth, Broncos pass rusher Dondrea Tillman forced a fumble that Matt Henningsen recovered at the Colts’ 19-yard line. A few plays later, undrafted running back Blake Watson scored on a six-yard run to make it 34-24.
Indy matched that score with a touchdown of their own but failed on their two-point attempt, making it 34-30. That ended up being the final score as Denver went on to run out the clock.
On the injury front, Broncos tight end Lucas Krull was ruled out in the second half with a toe injury. Denver cornerback Art Green was evaluated for a possible concussion in the third quarter and was ruled out.
Up next for the Broncos is a home preseason game against the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High in Week 2.
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