All preseason fans have been waiting to see a significant sign of life from the Denver Broncos, and on Sunday night they saw just that.
The Broncos closed out its home preseason schedule against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and walked away with the team’s first win of the preseason, defeating Pittsburgh 34-17.
A lot of people feel like the preseason does not matter, but nothing could be further from the truth for Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, who appeared to be in mid-season form running down the sidelines along with Andre Goodman as Goodman returned an interception for a 77-yard touchdown with just 11 seconds remaining in the first half, allowing the Broncos’ starters to exit the field with a 17-3 lead. 
Kyle Orton marched the team down the field for an impressive touchdown drive, capped off by a Lendale White 2-yard touchdown run. White, who grew up in Littleton, Colo., played his first game for his hometown team, and was introduced last to the fans, all of whom gave him a standing ovation. However, White was less than impressive in his playing time, rushing for just 34 yards on 12 carries. Unless the Broncos become desperate, it appears unlikely White will still be wearing orange and blue when he comes off of the suspended list in Week 5 of the regular season.
Orton looked fantastic in his second year under McDaniels’ offense, and has shown this entire preseason just how much he has improved in 12 months time. On Sunday, Orton was 9-12 for 80 yards and an interception, but made it looks easy to move the ball against the Steelers’ defense. He escaped a dangerous situation when he tried to make a tackle on James Harrison, who was returning a fumble that was later ruled not a fumble, when Harrison decided to hit Orton instead. The blow knocked the wind out of Orton, and McDaniels felt the shot was dirty. Harrison later explained that Orton had it coming for “running his mouth,” during the Broncos’ touchdown drive.
The Broncos defense is what impressed me the most on Sunday though. The Broncos got pressure on the quarterback, whoever that was, and I was especially thrilled with what I saw out of Robert Ayers. Ayers disappointed many in his rookie season in 2009, but one has to realize he was adjusting to an entirely new position at outside linebacker. Ayers got to the quarterback twice on Sunday, although one of the sacks was called back on a penalty. If he can give the Broncos a solid pass rush from the edge this year, it will take some of the sting out of Elvis Dumervil’s absence.
The defense was without Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey last night, but Goodman stepped up nicely with the pick-6, and rookie Perrish Cox made a Bailey-esque interception in the end zone as he barely tapped both toes in bounds for the turnover. It also looks like Cox has a firm grasp on the returners spot, but fellow rookie Syd’Quan Thompson also had a nice punt return, as well as another interception he returned 48 yards for a touchdown.
Joe Mays pressured the quarterback on numerous occasions, getting to and bringing down Byron Leftwich at ease. The Broncos held Leftwich, who is competing for the Steelers’ starting job for the opening weeks while Ben Roethlisberger serves his suspension, was held to 0-4 passing by the Broncos.
McDaniels also showed the competition for the second-string quarterback job is heating up now that Tim Tebow is once again healthy enough to strap on his helmet. Tebow worked the third quarter ahead of Brady Quinn, who played one series while Orton was out after having the wind knocked out of him, as well as the fourth quarter.
Tebow was once again considerably better than Quinn on the night, going 5-10 passing for 72 yards, a touchdown to fellow rookie Eric Decker, and one interception, which would have been returned for a touchdown if Tebow had not chased the cornerback out of bounds at the 1-yard line.
Quinn was 1-2 for 2 yards, and took a massive sack on the drive he filled in for Orton while the starters were still in the game.
The Broncos’ offensive line did its job last night with some changes to the left side. Rookie Zane Beadles saw time at left tackle while Stanley Daniels saw time at left guard. I still fully expect Beadles to start Week 1 at left guard when Ryan Clady returns from injury.
Lance Ball once again looked like the top option at running back with Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter still nursing injuries. Ball has 10 rushed for 75 yards, including a long run of 43 yards. Justin Fargas was dropped from the team today after running for 4 yards on 1 carry Sunday.
The Broncos need to stay healthy this week before and after playing the Minnesota Vikings in the preseason finale. Moreno is expected to return to practice this week, but likely will not play Thursday. When he and Demaryius Thomas return healthy the Broncos offense could look explosive, giving the Broncos a chance to win many more games than a lot of people expect in McDaniels’ second season.
What will be most interesting to see this week however, is whether or not Tebow will once again take second-team snaps ahead of Quinn.
