Why Nathaniel Hackett is benching his starters despite the Bills playing theirs

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos are going to be outmatched on Saturday.

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters Thursday that most of the team’s starters will play “a healthy amount” this weekend when the team hosts the Broncos. Star quarterback Josh Allen is one of the starters slated to play, but whether or not Von Miller will make an appearance against his former teammates is still unknown. Denver, meanwhile, still appears unlikely to play most of its starters this preseason.

So will Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett change his gameplan?

“No, it’s about our team,” he said. “Our team and our team only.”

On Saturday we’re likely to see a matchup between the Bills’ starters and the Broncos’ backups, and then a matchup between the Bills’ backups and the Broncos’ depth players as the game wears on. Denver will probably be at a talent disadvantage for the first three quarters, at least.

“We want to see who can come out there and play versus the best in the league,” Hackett. “It’s an unbelievable opportunity for those guys to step up and show what they can do.”

NFL starters have played less and less in the preseason over the past few decades, but the Los Angeles Rams took things to an extreme in 2019 by not playing any of their starters at all. Last year they held about 35 players out in an effort to avoid injuries. The philosophy has gained traction across the league with a handful of teams benching all of their starters, and a dozen or so resting their quarterbacks and key players for the whole preseason.

Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero was in the middle of a five-year stint with the Rams when head coach Sean McVay decided his starters wouldn’t see the field until Week 1.

“There are a lot of guys that have experience that don’t really need to get ready for a game,” Evero said Thursday. “They know what they need to do in terms of practice and stuff like that to get ready for that first game. If a guy has proven that he can do that, there’s no point of risking an injury in the preseason.”

Offensive coordinator Justin Outten is also happy with the decision to rest the starters and he has first-hand experience with this situation. Last season, while he was on the Packers’ staff, Green Bay traveled to Buffalo to take on the Bills. The Packers rested many of their starters, while the Bills played just about their entire lineup.

“Facing starters—it’s a great measuring stick for some guys with their first time in the league or first time in the system,” he told reporters. “We’ll see how it plays out.”

Even Russell Wilson is bought into the system.

“He always wants to be out there,” Outten said. “You saw him warming up (last week). He loves this game; he loves this team. Any opportunity that he could step inside the white lines, it’s a privilege. He realizes that every time you put a helmet on you don’t know what’s going to happen the next play. He really loves his game, and that’s what we love about him.”

If the Broncos’ offense starts slow early in the season then maybe we’ll have to rehash the direction the team has chosen. For now, everybody seems happy with the plan.

“My philosophy [is that] it’s risk-reward,” Hackett said. “I know everybody likes [watching the starters], but in the end, I want to do what’s right for the team.”