3 Up, 3 Down In Denver Broncos 33-13 Preseason Loss to Green Bay Packers

The Broncos lost to the Packers on Friday night, but there were still some great performances from Denver players.

And there were some issues that need to be worked out.

But that's what the preseason is for after all.

3 Up

Bo Nix

Bo Nix was extremely smooth last night in the win over the Packers.

He looked like he was still practicing at Dove Valley rather than playing a live game against an opponent.

Nix provided the two biggest highlights of the game last night. First, he hit Jaylen Waddle for an explosive 35-yard gain. Nix dropped back and hit Waddle deep over the middle on 3rd and 5, then the veteran receiver ran for some YAC into Green Bay territory.

Three plays later, Nix calmly dropped back and dropped the ball into a bucket for RJ Harvey in the end zone. Touchdown, Broncos.

"It was great," Nix said. "You want to finish every drive with a touchdown, so to do that for the first one to start the game was good."

He was so comfortable on the play that Nix took his drop and then paused a second to let Harvey get all the way open before uncorking a perfectly thrown ball.

“I think the strongest emotion was when I got out there it was just like riding a bike; nothing really changed,” Nix said after the game.

Many people have said Bo Nix is the Broncos X-factor this year. He has to stay healthy, for one. But beyond that he needs to play like a franchise quarterback; with consistency and confidence throughout the season.

He looked great last night. Here's hoping he continues to build on it heading into the regular season.

Jaylen Waddle

Speaking of Waddle, he didn't disappoint.

The veteran receiver has long been known for his big play ability, and he did what the Broncos couldn't do enough last year; caught an explosive pass right out the gates.

"A good play," Waddle said of the 35-yard connection following the game. "Not just by me, from the O-line, obviously the quarterback and all the receivers. … I get the ball, but it's much more than me just making a play."

And Nix was happy with Waddle's play, too.

"You can't really explain the type of player he is, you've just got to get out there and play," Nix said. "When you throw him the ball, you just understand that it's a bit different. He's just a really great football player. He adds a lot to our team, not only on the field … He gets everybody going. He's very exciting. Got a great, positive attitude out there. He's going to be great for us."

Waddle will completely elevate this offense. It's a beautiful thing to behold.

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Patrick Surtain

Patrick Surtain was mostly brilliant on Friday night.

To start the game, he ripped the ball from a receiver in what looked like a fumble. Unfortunately, Riley Moss injured his rib when he fell on the ball and didn't come back to the game. Hopefully Moss is OK.

Also unfortunately, it was all for naught as when Sean Payton challenged the call, it was deemed the receiver was down.

Later in that first drive, Surtain was run through on a rushing play. But he made up for it a few plays later with a huge hit on Christian Watson.

On the game, Surtain had 4 tackles, 3 solo.

“He's definitely one of the best corners in the game,” Love said about Surtain. “And he does a great job just everything he does. So, definitely got a lot of respect for him. He made a great play trying to get the ball out, but that's just what he does. He's a sticky corner. He does a lot of good things. I'm excited for him, the year he's going to have.”

Honorable Mention:

Que Robinson

Que Robinson had two quarterback hits and one sack. The first hit seemed clean; he tackled Tyrod Taylor right as the quarterback threw the ball. But he fell on him with his body weight and extended the drive. Green Bay ended up scoring on that drive.

Later in the game he sacked backup quarterback Kyle McCord with a speed rush off the edge.

Kolbe Katsis

Katsis electrified off the opening kick with a 40-yard return. That was a huge positive with Marvin Mims still nursing his soft tissue injury.

3 Down

It certainly wasn't a perfect game. The starting defense gave up a somewhat easy touchdown drive to the starting Packers offense following Surtain's forced fumble in which the receiver was called down.

“I can't think of one area we outplayed them,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said angrily after the loss.

Jarrett Stidham

Stiddy looked, well, awful.

He threw a silly interception after staring down his receiver and never looking him off. Then forced the ball in for the pick. That was the first play of the drive in the 2-minute offense, and it gave Green Bay the ball in field goal range just before the half.

Stidham also fumbled the ball once, but luckily recovered it. He went 9-15 for 82 yards and the interception.

Denver Run Defense / Communication

The run defense was nonexistent to start the game. And then especially when the second unit came in.

And on the first drive of the game, Vance Joseph dialed up a blitz which the announcers said Alex Singleton tried to change at the line, but some of the players didn't get the communication.

Because of that Broncos blitz on 3rd and 3 from the 11 yard line, MarShawn Lloyd was open as Deandre Tillman trailed him into the end zone.

Again, it's just preseason. And the NFL is tilted toward the offense for sure.

So, the Broncos don't need to panic. But they do need to fix some things defensively going into the final week of preseason and then into the regular season.

Sam Ehlinger / Depth

Ehlinger was even worse than Stidham and looked lost out there.

He went 2-2 for 10 yards but was sacked twice for 13 yards. He also fumbled a snap; which could be as much an issue with the center play and injuries as it was his fault.

Ehlinger is definitely behind Stidham in terms of the depth chart, and Denver's depth overall seemed somewhat shaky in the game.

Sure, the starters were strong, especially on offense. But when the backups came in, Green Bay had their way with Denver.

I talked about it in the positional rankings pieces; Denver has great starters at some positions like safety and inside linebacker, but really no one backing them up. And the signing of Taylor Rapp at safety this week shows the front office noticed that, too.

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Rich Kurtzman was born and raised in Denver Colorado and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins in the aughts. He's been a professional writer since 2011, covering Colorado State football and men's basketball, as well as the Denver Broncos, for many outlets. Current Denver Broncos work can be found on Mile High Sports. Previous credits include CBS Denver and The USA TODAY Sports Media Group.