Broncos struggle in preseason opener, fall to Vikings

DENVER — Kirk Cousins won.

In a quarterback matchup that couldn’t have been scripted any better, the Vikings’ $84-million man only needed one drive to beat out Case Keenum, who the Broncos invested $36 million in this offseason.

In the end, the Vikings pulled out a dominant, 42-28 victory at Broncos Field at Mile High Stadium. A late push from Chad Kelly brought the Broncos back into the game, but Denver couldn’t finish the job.

The Broncos’ entire starting defense was on the field for the Cousins’ first appearance, save for Von Miller. They didn’t provide much resistance, as Cousins led an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Denver consistently stacked the box, but that didn’t stop Latavius Murray from busting off back-to-back 21-yard runs. Cousins found Diggs for a 28-yard gain down the sideline and into the red zone through tight coverage from Bradley Roby. Then he capped the drive off with a short touchdown pass, again to Diggs, on a slant route against Isaac Yiadom.

The lone bright spot for the Broncos on the drive was Bradley Chubb standing up 230-pound Murray at the goal-line, showing off the size and strength that made him the fifth-overall pick.

Keenum’s night was not notable. He threw together a pair of three-and-outs and a sub-40 quarterback rating in his two drives and completed one out of four passes for five yards. Six snaps, no first downs.

The Broncos backup quarterback, Paxton Lynch, didn’t fare any better. The third-year quarterback subbed in for the Broncos’ third drive of the night and his first pass was an interception. Lynch was hit as he threw due to a blown protection by Devontae Booker and the ball was too high and tipped into the hands of Anthony Harris. He finished the night with 24 yards on six of 11 passing. Trevor Siemian, the Vikings backup quarterback, finished with five times Lynch’s quarterback rating and 165 yards.

Royce Freeman broke a 23-yard touchdown run halfway through the second quarter. The offensive line paved the way, but Freeman showed some wiggle to get by a linebacker on his way to the end zone, making the score 17-7. Not to be outdone, Vikings running back Roc Thomas scored on a 78-yard screen pass a few plays later, pushing the Minnesota lead back to 17.

Thomas’ touchdown was about all the Vikings running backs could get out of the Broncos backup defense. The Broncos’ reserves filled virtually every running lane, showcasing the team’s depth along the defensive line. Eight different Broncos recorded tackles for loss, but the team totaled just three sacks.

Shelby Harris, Jeff Holland and Marcus Rush put together strong efforts in the run game, and Will Parks was a standout in the first preseason game of his third season with five tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, a pass defensed and a quarterback hit.

Offensively, the Broncos’ impact was spread fairly evenly. Freeman was the standout in the running game with 38 yards on four carries. Phillip Lindsay caught three passes out of the backfield for 40 yards, and a touchdown and Tim Patrick caught three balls for 25 yards.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Chad Kelly took the field for the first time halfway through the third quarter, down 27-14, and led the Broncos to back-to-back touchdown drives. He found a wide-open Matt LaCosse for a 28-yard touchdown and hit Phillip Lindsay on third-and-long for a 19-yard touchdown. He was poised in the pocket, made good reads and used his physical tools to his advantage. He threw bullets in tight gaps to receivers and ran when there was open space in front of him.

His one flaw on Saturday was a pass behind his receiver late in the fourth quarter. With the game on the line, Kelly had a chance to tie the game, but he threw an interception to Jack Tocho.

All in all, Kelly likely earned himself some second-team reps in camp next week. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 177 yards with two touchdowns and the interception.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Late in the first half, Isaiah McKenzie caught a punt at his own 22 and bounced side-to-side for three full seconds before planting his foot in the ground and turning upfield. He weaved through his blockers and shook past unblocked defenders as he ran up the right sideline on his way to a 78-yard touchdown.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

“I definitely did. I’ll be honest. I wanted one series with a few more plays to score a touchdown.” – Case Keenum on whether he wanted a third drive

BY THE NUMBERS

1 – Broncos first downs in the first half

2 – Touchdowns by rookie running backs

WHAT’S NEXT

The Broncos take on the Bears next Saturday (Aug. 18) at 7:05 p.m. MST

On top of the preseason battle, the Broncos will also host the bears for two days of joint practices open to the public on Wednesday and Thursday.