By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos dropped their 2nd preseason game last night to the Seattle Seahawks 22-14. Denver’s preseason record is now 1-1. There were some players who performed well while others took a step back.
The Denver Broncos starting offense played one series. This was the 1st time quarterback Joe Flacco had a chance to show what he could do in a Broncos’ uniform. In his only series, Flacco played well, marching Denver down to the Seattle Seahawks’ 7-yard line but that was it. The drive stalled there and they settled for a field goal. In that drive, Flacco was 3 of 4 for 19 yards. He didn’t try to throw the long ball, but managed to move the ball through the air with short passes.
The only downside was that they drove the ball to the 6 yard-line and couldn’t score a touchdown. In order for the offense to be successful this year, Denver must score touchdowns and not settle for field goals when they drive the ball into the red zone. It was a pretty good showing for the 1st team offense.
Drew Lock played the 2nd quarter to the end of the game. He improved from last week. Lock used the whole field to find his open receiver. Denver was moving the ball. He ended 17 of 28 for 180 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
He was still holding onto the ball a little too long. This is inexperience at the NFL level but should progress with more playing time. When Lock held onto the ball, the defense created pressure to sack Lock with a total of 3. One of those sacks ended up being a safety. It wasn’t all Lock’s fault because the offensive line couldn’t block, but he needs to learn to throw the ball away if he can.
Running back Theo Riddick had his first game as a Bronco. Denver is hoping he can be used in the passing game. Riddick had a difficult night and was not impressive. He ran the ball once for a loss of 2 yards. In the passing game Riddick was thrown to twice and didn’t have a reception. Hopefully this was just a fluke and with more practice he will be a reliable running back to catch the football. If he can, that may help the Broncos moving forward.
A Broncos’ player who took a step back was Khalfani Muhammad. Against the Falcons in the Hall of Fame Game he rushed for 50 yards on 7 carries. Last night, he had trouble finding the hole to run through ending with -4 yards. It wasn’t all his fault since the offensive line wasn’t blocking for him, but he will have 3 more games to shine.
The Broncos still have a lot of work to do to become a finished product for week 1 of the regular season when they travel to Oakland. At least there are 3 more preseason games for players to earn a spot on this team. Their next preseason game is August 19th when they take on the San Francisco 49ers, marking the Broncos’ preseason home opener.
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