The Denver Broncos opened the preseason with a 14-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons in the Hall of Fame Game. It was ugly at times, but the Broncos left with the victory and a relatively clean bill of health.
Some winners and losers for the Broncos from Thursday night’s game are as follows:
Winner: Kevin Hogan
One of the big questions for the Broncos before the season starts is will the team keep two or three quarterbacks? Well, if Drew Lock looks like he did in this game for a while, the answer will be three.
Hogan didn’t necessarily light it up in this game, but he didn’t have to. He looked much better than Lock and becomes a “winner” on this list basically by default. He finished the game by completing five of his eight pass attempts for 37 yards.
Lock wasn’t necessarily a “loser,” but he has some work to do.
Loser: Brendan Langley
After being converted from defensive back to wide receiver during the offseason, Langley already faced long odds to make the team this year.
The former Denver third-round pick dealt those chances a huge blow when he muffed a punt in the first quarter, leading to a turnover.
Winner: Juwann Winfree
Sometimes all it takes is one play to turn things around, and Winfree did that in this game.
Since camp started, undrafted rookies such as Trinity Benson and Kelvin McKnight have drawn rave reviews from those close to the team, while many have speculated that one of them will steal a roster spot from Winfree.
Facing a 4th-and-14 play late in the game, Brett Rypien lofted the ball into the end zone, where he saw Winfree in tight coverage. The Atlanta defensive back batted the ball into the air, but Winfree showed why the team has high hopes for him. He stuck with the free ball and snagged it out of the air, getting two feet inbounds for the game-winning touchdown.
Loser: Noah Fant
Fant has a bright future with the team, and that should not be in doubt, but this wasn’t his best showing.
He finished the game with one catch for seven yards but also dropped one that hit him right in the hands and committed a holding penalty that brought a nice run back. Then there was an incompletion from Lock in his direction as he ran down the sideline. Yeah, Lock overthrew him, but he didn’t exactly push himself to make the catch.
Winner: Khalfani Muhammad
Muhammad can’t be called a big “winner” — he still will almost certainly be cut at the end of the preseason — but he put forth a solid effort in this one, touching the ball on offense more than any player on the team.
In addition to scoring the Broncos’ first touchdown, Muhammad carried the ball seven times for 50 yards and added another 24 yards receiving on four receptions.
Winner: Malik Reed
Unknown to most Broncos fans, Reed looked to be playing with some fire in this game.
The undrafted rookie finished with four tackles, one sack and another hit on the quarterback. The Broncos have an opportunity at the linebacker position, and Reed put his name squarely in the mix with his performance.
Winner: Brett Rypien
Though he watched from the sideline for most of the night while the team gave Lock an extended look, Rypien made his mark when he got into the game.
The former Boise State Bronco completed 5-of-10 passes for 41 yards and the game-winning touchdown pass.
Winner: Dre’Mont Jones
The Broncos may really have something in their third-round pick from April’s draft. Jones made a couple of plays in the fourth quarter of this game that helped the team get the win.
He finished with three tackles, one resulting in a loss of yardage. On that same possession, he was able to hit the throwing arm of Falcons quarterback Matt Schaub, causing the ball to float through the air and land in the arms of Broncos defensive back Trey Johnson.
