ENGLEWOOD, Colorado — The Denver Broncos defense brought a lot of intensity to their joint practice with the Green Bay Packers on Friday – led by Nik Bonitto.
There has to be something about working out together that brings out the best in Bonitto. Two years ago, when the Dallas Cowboys visited, Bonitto exploded after a nervous start to training camp, recording four pressure situations that could have been ruled sacks under game conditions.
Bonitto didn’t quite reach that statistical level in his work Friday. And at one point he almost crossed the line — at least for one workout.
But he played a big part in the Broncos’ defensive effort that kept Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense from really getting going – and even shut them down completely toward the end of practice.
As Green Bay’s first offense looked to gain some momentum in the two-minute “move-the-ball” period at the end of practice, Bonitto made a clean sweep, first sacking Love on fourth and third down attempts and then providing the pressure that forced an incomplete pass on the fourth attempt.
It was the highlight of a day in which the Broncos defense consistently pressured Love. The coverage in the back end – particularly from Pat Surtain II, but Riley Moss also had a solid day – was the ideal complement to a pass rush that constantly put Love under pressure. Both Surtain and Moss had near interceptions during another move-the-ball sequence that resulted in Green Bay losing the ball on one down. For Surtain, it was one of two pass defenses he had throughout the day on throws intended for WR Romeo Doubs.
But for Bonitto, the final chord was just part of a day that saw him dance on the edge of disaster. During a replay of the team phase, Bonitto flashed around the corner and appeared to make contact with Love, forcing a fluttering pass that Alex Singleton intercepted.
In practice, that was considered a no-go; Love was wearing the red “no touching” jersey. Packers coach Matt LaFleur yelled at Bonitto and other players rushed over. But Love later said he believed his own right tackle, Zach Tom, actually made the contact with Love that came from Bonitto’s pass rush.
“We’re very particular about staying away from the quarterback, so they might have thought the D-lineman hit my arm or something, but I don’t think that happened,” Love told the Wisconsin media after practice.
So, no damage, no foul … and no complaints on a day when Bonitto put the frustration of a stubborn back behind him with a robust performance in the most impactful practice of Broncos camp yet.
- While the Broncos defense held the Packers off the scoring spot on three move-the-ball series, Denver’s offense managed two field goals despite trailing by 3 points. Bo Nix brought the No. 1 offense to a point on two passes to Tim Patrick and another to Samaje Perine. Jarrett Stidham brought the second period offense within striking distance with two passes to Lil’Jordan Humphrey before a Frank Crum penalty set the offense back 5 yards.
- The Broncos’ offensive line was plagued with penalties during a red zone period, and three flags were waved during the first 12 snaps before the group regained its momentum. Two touchdowns followed, with Stidham finding Sutton on third-and-goal with a quick slant for a 4-yard touchdown and Nix sending a ball from close range to Phillip Dorsett for a touchdown pass.
- The teams used the special teams periods to practice punts and kickoffs. The punt period was perhaps the most intense of Broncos training camp so far, and it resulted in the most notable altercation when Packers long snapper Matt Orzech was left lying on the ground after a block in front of Broncos safety Devon Key and remained there until both teams’ sidelines were empty and players rushed onto the field.
- Orzech airmailed his next snap over the head of Packers punter Daniel Whelan and the ball sailed through the end zone, which under game conditions would have been a safety for Denver.
- Orzech’s action came shortly after Ja’Quan McMillian and Damarri Mathis had punted Packers shooter Kalen King to the ground, earning him a standing ovation and prompting McMillian to further energize the fans gathered on the West Slope.
- During the punt period, Riley Dixon had three punts while Trenton Gill had two. Dixon averaged 48 yards on his three punts, with hang times ranging from 4.33 to 5.36 seconds. Gill averaged 43.5 yards on his punts, but both of his hang times were under 3.9 seconds.
- One of the best plays of the day was when Stidham threw a 20-yard pass to Jaleel McLaughlin on a wheel route out of the backfield during a team period. McLaughlin and Javonte Williams showed a lot of toughness and had some long runs after cuts during the day’s work.
The Broncos defense’s near-misses on interceptions finally ended late in practice when cornerback Reese Taylor leapt up and made a high-point interception of Packers backup quarterback Sean Clifford, ending the Green Bay Packers offense in the final “move the ball” phase of the day’s two-minute drill. Taylor tempted fate by holding onto the ball after catching it, but recovered it to give the Broncos the win on that down series.
“I’ve said it before: ‘Young and hungry can be dangerous.’ So I’m encouraged.” — Broncos head coach Sean Payton
- Wide receiver Devaughn Vele remained sidelined. Broncos coach Sean Payton expressed hope that Vele would be able to play on Sunday, but declined to comment on the injury that forced him to leave practice early on Thursday.
It was a very good day for the Broncos.
They brought excitement to the game against a serious Super Bowl contender.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) 17 August 2024
