ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos ended training camp with a flourish.
At the conclusion of the Broncos' joint practice with the Green Bay Packers, the two teams faced off in an end-of-game scenario in which the offense trailed by three points and took over at its own 40-yard line with 1:10 to play.
On one field, the Broncos' offense faced off against the Green Bay defense stacked with former first-round picks. And on the other, Denver's defensive unit faced a tough matchup against a rising young star in Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
"It's another team, and we're in pads," Payton said. "It's warm. How does that affect our tempo? I thought offensively, we tend to be a fairly faster-tempo-type team. Not no-huddle, but just in and out. You really get some information when guys get to be a little tired. You really do. You want to avoid the mental false starts and all the things that can begin to happen when you're fatigued. This was another good test."
In between both sets of white lines, Denver rose to the challenge of facing a team that advanced to the divisional round of last year's postseason.
"I've said this before: Young and hungry can be dangerous," Payton said of his team. "I'm encouraged."
On Love and the Packers offense's first attempt, the Broncos recorded three consecutive pass breakups by cornerback Riley Moss, safety P.J. Locke and cornerback Pat Surtain II to earn a fourth-and-9 stop and hold Green Bay without a field goal.
As Green Bay's second-team offense attempted the drill, rookie cornerback Reese Taylor came up with a downfield interception to give another win to the Broncos' defense.
Love and the Packers' starting group took one more rep to end practice, but outside linebacker Nik Bonitto crashed past the Packers' right tackle to earn a sack and set up fourth-and-long. Again, Denver's defense held.
On the opposite field, quarterbacks Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham both led their units to score. Using three passes of at least 10 yards — including an impressive sideline throw to Courtland Sutton for 15 yards — Nix guided the offense to the 17-yard line in quick fashion. After a first-down spike, the Broncos headed back to the start of the drill rather than play out the final seconds.
In Stidham's work, he overcame an offensive penalty to find Lil'Jordan Humphrey for a sizable gain. In his final snap, he threaded a throw to the 5-yard line for a gain of 25 yards.
The Broncos' offense also found success in red-zone work earlier in practice, as Stidham hummed a throw to Sutton for a touchdown and Nix fired a pass to wide receiver Phillip Dorsett for a tight-window score.
"Look, we're getting a lot of [situational football] worked, and we still have work to do," Head Coach Sean Payton said. "But I think there's so many things that can come up. We practiced a two-minute at the end. We had red zone, third down. We just had a lot of different looks."
QUICK HITS
… Sutton provided a highlight via his blocking, as he led the way after Nix found wide receiver Tim Patrick for a 20-yard gain. With a full head of steam, Sutton delivered a punishing block on a Packers defensive back to spring Patrick for more yards. Patrick made a series of catches on Friday.
"I think he's gaining confidence [and] moving around," Payton said of Patrick. "He's certainly in good shape, and we'll get a chance [to see him] against this weekend."
… Quarterback Zach Wilson was efficient in seven-on-seven action, as he found wide receivers Brandon Johnson and Troy Franklin as part of a period in which he connected on four completions. In 11-on-11 work, Wilson again found Johnson for a nice gain on the run, and he fired a pass down the seam to tight end Lucas Krull.
… Tackle Mike McGlinchey post an impressive rep early in practice as he stonewalled former 12th-overall pick Rashan Gary to give Nix plenty of time to find running back Javonte Williams.
… Bonitto delivered another pressure during 11-on-11 action against Love, and he forced Love's throw to be batted into the air. Inside linebacker Alex Singleton picked off the pass, which helped Denver's defense earn the first takeaway of the day.
… Running back Audric Estime delivered a strong blitz pickup on an extra Packers rusher and allowed Nix to step into a 20-plus-yard throw to Sutton.
… Second-year safety JL Skinner provided one of the highlights of special teams work as he blocked a Packers field goal.
… Running back Jaleel McLaughlin had a productive practice through the air, as he made a play on a wheel route from Stidham and would have had plenty of room to run after a pass from Nix.
