Broncos' starters don't live up to Super Bowl hype in first preseason showing

For all of the talk about the Denver Broncos potentially having a Super Bowl-worthy roster, the starters didn't live up to the high expectations and early hype on Saturday night.

In limited action on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, Denver's starting offense sputtered, and the starting defense was burned for a big play and a first-drive touchdown against San Francisco's second-team units. While it's certainly way too early to push any panic buttons, Saturday night showed the Broncos still have plenty to clean up if they are truly going to return to Levi's Stadium on Feb. 8 as the AFC representative in Super Bowl LX.

Denver head coach Sean Payton caught attention during training camp by saying this year's team was "capable of winning the Super Bowl." That placed a lot of pressure on Bo Nix, Denver's second-year quarterback, to take his game to the next level after a rookie campaign that saw him throw for 3,775 yards while leading the Broncos to a 10-7 mark and playoff appearance.

While Nix was impressive last season, he showed little in limited playing time against San Francisco.

The 49ers frustrated Nix in his three drives, including defensive pressure that forced the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft into an intentional grounding call in the end zone that resulted in a safety and a 9-0 San Francisco lead.