The Broncos marched out onto the field and for the first time, they did so under youngest coach in Denver history Josh McDaniels.

Expectations were high. Many fans took McDaniels on his word and morals that the Broncos would be improved from last year, even on the offensive end, while losing a Pro Bowl QB.

The Broncos first drive of the night was decent, shoot, it was pretty darn good. Denver started on their own 27 and marched methodically down the field to the five yard line.

The drive was good for 13 plays and 69 yards and gobbled up 6:57 of game time, but it culminated in an interception. That’s something that happened all too often the last couple of years in Denver.

The second drive saw a ball forced into an unopen receiver for another pick. Then, during the third drive, it only took Orton three plays to get his third interception of the game. In all, Orton finished going 9-16 for 89 yards and three picks.

This performance brought memories of Brian Griese, Jake Plummer, and heaven forbid, even John Elway. People too easily forget that Elway struggled his whole career with interceptions, but he could also recover from them and pull out wins.

Orton’s struggles has likely brought panic to Denver fans, as many want Cutler back, but he was not strong in his opening performance either.

Jay Cutler threw a pick in his second drive with Chicago, and he nearly had another that would have gone for six easily, but the Bills’ defender could not hang onto a ball that Cutler forced into triple coverage. That’s something he did so many times in Denver the past few years.

Cutler though was saved by a fumbled punt by a Bills’ player, which gave the Bears’ offense great field position. He then made a nice pass to an open Clark. Cutler was forced into the third-down situation on the five yard line, and attempted to force a ball into double coverage, that could have been picked as well.

Cutler’s night finished as 5-10 with 64 yards and in interception.

 

What’s interesting is the fact that both second-string QBs played better than their starters—though there is only one quarterback controversy, and it’s in Denver.

Chris Simms came in and played quite well, going 11-17 for 142 yards and two touchdowns. He commanded the offense and the 49ers defense, although it was the second-stringers.

Colorado State University Alumn Caleb Hanie, Chicago’s backup, went 8-11 for 87 yards and a touchdown—which came on a bootleg toss while getting hit.

Following the “nightmareish” performance by Orton though, Denver coach Josh McDaniels backed his starting quarterback.

“I feel very confident where we’re at,” McDaniels said after the game. “He made a few mistakes, but we’re not going to go into this thing after the first preseason game and start tailspinning and doing this and that and making knee-jerk reactions.”

And when asked about losing the starting job, Orton said, “I’m not worried about it, I’ve got a lot of confidence in me, and my team has a lot of confidence in me.”

If he does want to keep the spot, he must have a better performance next week.

And either way, Simms showed he deserves at least a few series with the first string offense.

 

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