5 Biggest Takeaways from Denver Broncos Preseason Opener

The first preseason game for the Denver Broncos is now in the books. The Broncos beat the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 22-20 in front of an always-rowdy crowd at CenturyLink Field.

Broncos coach Gary Kubiak had a lot to monitor on Friday night. Several players received increased playing time as many veteran starters were given the night off.

Kubiak becomes the first Broncos head coach to win in his debut since Mike Shanahan in 1995. The coach liked most of what he saw from the team on Friday night.

“Everybody pitched in. Obviously we had a lot of mistakes special teams wise. I’m pleased with the effort. We knew it wasn’t going to be perfect but we played really hard and some good things happened.”

Here are the five biggest takeaways from the preseason opener for the Broncos.

Shane Ray Is Better on Game Day

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Every day (except one) during Broncos training camp at UC Health Training Center, Shane Ray has struggled to make an impact. During drills Ray has been learning the ropes of what it takes to make an impact in the NFL. He’s been getting blocked at practice, and Ray has failed to make much of an impression. Ray hasn’t looked bad during training camp so far, but he’s done little of note.

However, on one day of practice when going against right tackle Chris Clark we saw glimpses of what Ray could be. The two were talking a lot of trash to each other, and Ray seemed to get frustrated when the veteran blocked him so easily. On the next three reps between the two, Ray was able to get around Clark and to the quarterback for a sack.

That fire and determination Ray showed on those few reps were exactly what he did during game days in college at Missouri. He seemed to match that intensity on Friday night against the Seahawks.

Ray finished with one tackle and one forced fumble, but the stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story. He was able to help Malik Jackson get a sack early in the game. Ray showed good initial burst off the line of scrimmage, and he looked relentless on the field.

Ray felt good after playing in the first professional football game of his career.

“It was amazing going out and hearing the national anthem, looking around the stadium and realizing that being an NFL football player is something I have worked for my whole life. To finally be out there doing what I love, I can’t really describe into words how amazing it felt.”

Broncos fans can certainly describe how they felt watching Ray on Friday night—overjoyed. The rookie pass-rusher could be in line for a strong debut season.

Ronnie Hillman Making His Case

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The Broncos are set with C.J. Anderson as their starting back. Behind Anderson, the Broncos have an interesting battle developing between Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball. If the first game was any indication, Hillman is doing his best to take the lead in that fight.

Hillman finished the game with 66 rushing yards on eight carries. That was good for a whopping 8.3 yards per carry, and he had a long run of 23 yards.

He looked explosive out there on the field, and the Broncos were using him in many different ways. Hillman looked best on toss plays or sweeps to the outside where his speed to shine. However, the team did run him inside a few times, and Hillman showed surprising toughness for the smallest back on the team.

After the game, Hillman praised his offensive line.

“I’m proud of those guys. They came in and did a good job. They pushed the d‐line off the ball.” Hillman concluded, “They gave me a lot of lanes to run and made it easy for me.”

Kubiak definitely noted Hillman’s speed.

“Ronnie’s got that gear, maybe that the other guys in our group don’t have in terms of getting the ball to the edge and those type of things. He has been impressive in training camp. And lo and behold you usually show up and play well.” Kubiak emphasized, “It’s good to see it’s carrying over for him.”

The Broncos have running back talent falling out of their pockets. This competition between Hillman and Ball should be an interesting one to watch develop as the season draws closer.

Brock Osweiler Impresses

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Perhaps no other player on the Broncos roster has more to gain in the preseason than Brock Osweiler. If he performs well over the next few exhibition games, then Osweiler may get a contract extension offer from the Broncos. He’s currently in the final year of his rookie contract, but if the team likes what they see then Osweiler could stick around as the quarterback of the future.

Osweiler made a positive impression against a quality opponent in less-than-ideal conditions on Friday night. The young quarterback felt like a performance like that could help boost his confidence.

“I think it’s big. If you look back, I haven’t started a true football game since 2011. So to go out there and show yourself that you can still do it, I think it was a big deal, confidence‐wise.”

Osweiler added, “But I’m also a firm believer that you play like you practice, and over the course of the past three years I’ve taken every single practice very serious, treated every practice like a game, and I think all that kind of led up to tonight.”

He finished the first half completing 15-of-20 passes (75.0 percent) for 151 yards with one touchdown and a passer rating of 112.7. Osweiler also impressed on third down when he needed to move the chains. He completed 4-of-7 passes (57.1 percent) for 40 yards with four first-down conversions in those situations.

This was a good start to the preseason for the potential quarterback of the future.

Von Miller Looks Incredibly Dangerous

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The Broncos have a great asset in Von Miller. There’s a chance that he could break the NFL sack record in Wade Phillips’ defense. His skill set and the combination of a 3-4 defense with an aggressive plan of attack is nothing but a good thing for the Broncos.

Miller has been a standout player every day in training camp. He looks better than ever, and that play carried over to what we saw on Friday night.

On the second play from scrimmage, Miller used a speed/bullrush combination move to get to quarterback Russell Wilson. He arrived at the quarterback with natural violence and jarred the ball loose.

Miller explained what he did on that play.

“I was just coming around the edge. I wanted to come out and play hard every snap we were in there—we knew we weren’t going to play too much. I wanted to come out and play hard. As a defense, as a whole, I think we did that.” Miller emphasized, “We’ve got to keep building, but for our first game, I like where we’re at.”

In the brief time he was out there, Miller made an incredible impact. He finished the game with two tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

All of the signs point to Miller snaring 15-20 (or more) sacks this year. This is great news for the Broncos and a development that should have opponents greatly concerned.

Virgil Green More Than a Blocker

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After years of being in the shadow of Julius Thomas, we saw Virgil Green take advantage of a larger role on Friday night. With Owen Daniels getting the night off, Green stepped into the top role at tight end, and he did not disappoint.

Outside of missing a block that caused a sack, Green had a perfect night. He finished the game with five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. The scoring pass from Osweiler fell into Green’s arms on a seam route, and he easily brought the pass in.

Osweiler described the scoring play.

“For myself over the course of the past three years, Virgil (Green) and I have been throwing at a local high school along with some of the other skill guys… A lot of those things are starting to pay off. I was very excited.” Osweiler summarized, “Once again, my job was easy—the offensive line gave me time. I just had to put it in the bucket.”

Green has always been an underrated receiver. Coming out of Nevada, Green was known only as a receiving threat—and his blocking ability was a huge question mark. In college, he was a favorite target of Colin Kaepernick. In the pros, Green looks like he could become a favorite target for Osweiler or Peyton Manning.

All quotes and injury/practice observations were obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information was provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats were via ESPN's employees-only database.

Contract and salary-cap information was provided by Spotrac. Transaction history was provided by Pro Sports Transactions.