I've gotta say, being in the seats for the Jordan Love to Dontayvion Wicks touchdown on Saturday OFFICIALLY got me ready for the season. I thought I was ready until Love, looking off a safety then hitting Wicks who absolutely smoked his opposing corner, showed what he's capable of doing throwing deep. I don't want to see him in another preseason game the rest of the way, however. Let's keep everyone healthy.

With Matt LaFleur stating that limited starters will play Sunday night in Denver, it'll be a great opportunity to see more of the camp battles coming to fruition on the field. Emmanuel Wilson vying for a roster spot... Jacob Monk being a BIG NASTY and moving up the depth chart... Grant DuBose trying to take Bo Melton's spot. A lot of important snaps ahead for a number of young players.

With that, let's raise up the preseason Periscope yet again and look at the past, present and future of the Packers and the Broncos.

The Past

With Denver's 2023 win over the Packers in a slop fest of a game gave the Broncos an 8-7-1 all-time edge. Unfortunately, that edge includes Super Bowl XXXII, a 31-24 Denver win and still one I'm not able to go back and re-watch even though I was 13 at the time.

In fact, that game still makes me so angry that this week's look back is a bit of a pummeling of the mile high horses. The game took place on December 28 of 2003. A day in which the Packers needed an absolute miracle to make the playoffs. The division-leading Vikings led by a game and were facing the woeful Arizona Cardinals in a game Minnesota really had no business losing. While they got all they could handle in Arizona, meanwhile, the Packers absolutely throttled Denver to ensure they did their part to sneak into the playoffs.

Taking a 10-0 lead into halftime on a Brett Favre-to-Bubba Franks two-yard touchdown and subsequent Ryan Longwell field goal, the Packers really turned it on in the second half to hammer Denver. Led by Ahman Green with two touchdowns including a team-record 98-yarder, the Packers wrapped up the 31-3 win and just needed Minnesota to blow it...

AND HOO BOY DID THEY EVER. Despondent Paul Allen is a drug and I'm hopelessly addicted. I don't know how my Broncos beatdown video turned into a minor Vikings bash session, but here we are!

The Present

Denver has spent the last 18 months or so trying to clean up their self-made mess of Russell Wilson, Nathaniel Hackett, Sean Payton and whatever kind of disaster you want to call this team the past couple seasons. Brutal football. In an effort to fix things, they got some ugly new uniforms, a lovely throwback and rookie quarterback Bo Nix who most Draft pundits would say was a pretty big reach.

Even still, he's a talented young player and one who showed a couple flashes in their preseason opener. Also at the helm are Jarrett Stidham and (LOLwarning) Zach Wilson. What a QB room. Remember this the next time the Packers take a first round quarterback when Jordan Love is 34 and still playing at a high level.

Anyway, the Broncos are very much a team going through some changes. One of those changes was bringing in Mike McGlinchey to bolster an offensive line which already has Quinn Meinerz who just got a hefty payday. Knowing Sean Payton (and not having a great QB), they'll try to run, run, run. And they might just be good at it.

As for the Packers, we already know it's backup fest. And it was noted Tuesday that Michael Pratt was getting work with the twos. It'll be interesting to see how the snaps breakdown between him and Sean Clifford on Sunday. Clifford was absolutely QB2 in that game, but Pratt played extremely well. That's the battle I'll be watching the closest. 

There was also a lot of shade thrown at AJ Dillon coming out of Saturday's game. Go watch that game again... Dillon had absolutely no help. While Emanuel Wilson looked like the better back, all accounts are that Dillon has been the second-best back on the team behind Josh Jacobs. So I'm curious to see how Dillon looks against a different defensive front with, hopefully, more help from his line.

The Future

The Green Bay Packers at the Denver Broncos. Sunday, August 18, 7pm Lombardi time. There will be no Love-to-Wicks fireworks this week, sadly. But keeping starters healthy is paramount to starting the season strong. So this game is a perfect opportunity to save some bodies and get valuable reps to as many backups as possible.

Same story as last week - play well, put some good film out, stay healthy, get the hell outta there. I know I talked mostly offense above, but I'm also to see more strides by the defense which was a VERY active and effective group on Saturday in Cleveland. I think we'll continue to see a lot of quality work from this defensive line which really seems like it'll be an asset as well as safety which is rapidly turning into a VERY strong room.

What a way to wrap up the weekend. Late summer, Sunday Night, put up your feet, crack a cold pop and take in a Packers game. Cheers!