By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos edged the Atlanta Falcons in the Hall of Fame Game last night by the score of 14-10. This was the first preseason game for both and kicked off the preseason schedule for the NFL. Denver had a few players shine while others didn’t.
One running back who impressed me was Khalfani Muhammad. He is trying to make the team as a backup running back. He made an impact as soon as he was in the game. Muhammad picked up the blitzes to block for the quarterbacks giving them time to throw the football.
When he touched the football, Muhammad made the most of it. On the ground he rushed for 50 yards on 7 carries, an impressive yards per rush of 7.1. On running plays, he looked for the hole and ran through it. It took a while before the Falcons defense could stop him. On the receiving end, Muhammad totaled 24 yards. Denver may have a tough time cutting him if Muhammad continues to play like he did last night.
On defense Dre’Mont Jones, who Denver picked in the 3rd round in this years’ NFL Draft, played well. He made an impact with 3 tackles with 1 for a loss of yards. Jones showed flashes of why Denver drafted him.
Rookie quarterback Drew Lock had a mixed bag night, but it wasn’t all his fault. He showed he can throw the long ball. Some of his passes were a little longer than his receivers ran, but for some of them, his receiver slowed down. If the receiver hadn’t slowed down, they would have had a chance to be caught and who knows how many yards they would have gained. There were a few plays where his receivers dropped the ball when it was right in their hands. Lock forced the ball where the receiver wasn’t but it might have been miscommunication. He was lucky those weren’t picked off. Lock ended 7 for 11 for 34 yards. He will keep growing and needs to work on looking at all his receivers in the field of play, but that should improve.
The offensive line didn’t perform well. Most of the game was backups and there was pressure in the face of the quarterbacks. They allowed 5 quarterback hits and 3 sacks. That is an area where the Broncos should clean up so the quarterbacks don’t get smacked as often otherwise it could be a long year with sacks which could equal turnovers.
It wasn’t a horrible performance for the Broncos in their 1st preseason game. They will only improve from here. The next preseason game is next Thursday when they travel to Seattle. Starters should see a drive or 2 since they rested this week.
Tuned in late but did get to see fantastic finish. Football is truly a game of never say die.