Everything you need to know from the Broncos' first joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos hosted the Los Angeles Rams for their first of two joint practices on Wednesday. They’ll both take the field at Centura Health Training Center again on Thursday, before playing their final preseason game on Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High.

The Rams got the better of the Broncos in the first practice, but head coach Sean Payton wasn’t concerned.

“It’s not what I’m hoping to see on film today, it’s what I’m hoping to see tomorrow with the corrections,” Sean Payton said. “I thought on the offensive field where I was, we had too many false starts. I thought we tired pretty quickly. There were a lot of plays, relative to maybe what they’re used to, and even more than what a real game would present. I think it’s good from a conditioning standpoint.”

Here’s what went down…

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The Rams win practice

The Rams and Broncos held four segments of team drills. The first was a standard, scripted team drill. The second was a red zone drill. The third was a move-the-ball drill. The final segment was a two-minute drill. In each segment, the Broncos’ offense lined up against the Rams’ offense on one field, and the Broncos’ defense and Rams’ offense played simultaneously on the other field.

The only wins for the Broncos were in the move-the-ball drill on each field.

In team drills, the Rams’ offensive line was sharp in getting to its spots and consistently created running lanes. Matt Stafford got the ball out quickly, primarily picking the Broncos apart underneath. He also hit Cooper Kupp 20 yards downfield after he’d gained a tiny window of separation by breaking inside of Pat Surtain II.

Meanwhile, the Broncos’ offense couldn’t get much going. The run blocking wasn’t nearly as crisp as the Rams. Russell Wilson missed Jerry Jeudy on a deep post, which might have been a throwaway. He tried to hit Jeudy on a comeback, but Cobie Durant broke it up. His best throw was a 29-yarder to Courtland Sutton, who slid to the ground while catching the ball. The Broncos also had a good screen, and Marvin Mims took a jet sweep for a big gain, but those plays weren’t enough to draw a win on the offensive field.

In the red zone period, I missed most of what happened on the Broncos’ defensive field. But I never saw a touchdown or heard any celebrations.

Unfortunately, the Broncos didn’t have any touchdowns either. Wilson tried to hit Jeudy in the back of the endzone, but he was well-covered, and the only option was to lob the ball up and hope for the best. He tried to hit Marvin Mims Jr. along the goal line on a return route, but the pass was broken up.

In the third segment, a move-the-ball-drill, the Broncos’ offense fared much better. Wilson hit Adam Trautman then handed the ball to Javonte Williams, which set up a 3rd & 3 conversion on a pass to Greg Dulcich. On the next third down, Wilson found Hinton on a drag, but he couldn’t make it past the sticks. A couple of plays later, Wilson hit Hinton downfield for a 27-yard gain.

On the Broncos’ defensive field, the Rams couldn’t get anything going. Kupp beat Damarri Mathis for 12 yards, but I didn’t see them move the sticks again.

Media had an obstructed view of the two-minute drill at the end of practice. The Broncos needed three points to send the game to overtime in the scenario and moved the ball down the field efficiently. Marquez Callaway caught a deep out for 13 yards. Denver made it to the 32-yard line but didn’t attempt the field goal.

On the defensive field, the Broncos started with a sack, which I think was from Zach Allen. The Rams rebounded and moved down the field quickly. A screen carried them into the red zone. Then Ja’Qaun McMillian gave up a touchdown on a fade to the back pylon.

Obviously, practice is structured very differently than a real game, but based on the eye test, I’d say Wednesday felt like a 26-17 win for the Rams.

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Albert O shines

Last week, Albert Okwuegbunam capped off a good week of practice with a few great blocks in a preseason game against the 49ers. On Wednesday, he kept it up.

Okwuegbunam caught a 25-yard touchdown from Jarrett Stidham on a wheel route. Then Stidham hit him in the flat, and Okwuegbunam walked in for a five-yard touchdown. After that, Stidham hit Okwuegbunam deep on a third-down crossing route for a huge gain.

If the Broncos had one star on Wednesday, it was Albert O.

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A fight

Maybe calling what happened on Wednesday a “fight” is a stretch, but tempers definitely flared early in practice.

Damarri Mathis was in coverage on Van Jefferson and came in late to swipe at the ball and knocked Jefferson to the ground. A couple of Rams charged at Mathis, before Josey Jewell stepped in. There was some pushing and shoving, but no punches were thrown.

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Other notes

• Fabian Moreau had a pass breakup on a deep dig.
• Thomas Incoom blew contain on a run to the outside, but he made up for it by blowing up a run a few snaps later.
• Ja’Quan McMillian blew up a screen.
• Randy Gregory probably wouldn’t have had a sack, but he probably would have had a massive hit on a Matthew Stafford bootleg.
• Jarrett Stidham hit Nate Adkins in the flat, and Adkins ran for a 15-yard gain.