4 Bright Spots Amid Broncos' Ugly 42-15 Preseason Loss to Bills

Tip your cap to these four Broncos for showing out while the team around them crumbled and withered.

The Denver Broncos got lambasted by the Buffalo Bills 42-15 in game 2 of the preseason on Saturday. It was to be expected since the Bills played starters nearly the entire second half while the Broncos went with their second and third-stringers. 

It was ugly, and the Broncos' defense was demoralized. That showed throughout the game. Fortunately, it was only preseason. 

Even with the lopsided score, there were still some game balls to go around for the Broncos. Here are four guys who shined amid the onslaught. 

Mike Boone | RB

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Boone, playing with the Broncos' ones and twos against the Bills starters, showed out well. He started the game with a nice run of eight yards to pick up a first down. 

That run helped the Broncos establish a solid drive to start the game, which resulted in a field goal. Boone followed that up with a great catch-and-run for 13 yards and also added a nice blitz pickup showing he can be an all-around back when needed. 

Boone's stats don’t look incredible on the box score, but he had a nice game in the short time he played.

Brett Rypien | QB

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After the prior preseason game, it looked like Josh Johnson had the backup job all but locked up, but Rypien made sure that it wasn’t a done deal. Rypien was shaky to start the second half, but settled in and played well. He engineered a nice touchdown drive and showed off his accuracy.

Rypien didn’t manage the two-minute drill well to end the game, but in all, it was a decent showing. For the game, he went 22-of-26 for 191 yards and a touchdown with a passer rating of 110.1. The Broncos' backup job may still be up for grabs thanks to this performance.

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Montrell Washington | WR/KR/PR

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Washington has the Broncos' returner gig locked up. He's a dynamic runner with the ball in his hands and showed that he isn’t easy to bring down. 

Washington had one long kick return even though he was initially caught dead to rights by the defenders. However, he refused to go down as he broke tackles and rumbled for a 35-yard return. 

The rookie was no slouch on offense either, hauling in two big catches in traffic in the first half of play. This small-school rookie is showing he belongs in the NFL.

Delarrin Turner-Yell | S

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Due to the absolute dreadful showing from the Broncos' defensive line and linebackers, Delarrin Turner-Yell was forced to make many tackles from his safety position, finishing with four combined on the day (three solo). The Bills' running backs had holes to run through the size of the Grand Canyon. 

Turner-Yell made several saving tackles after long runs in the open field. He also made a great open field tackle to force the Bills to punt after a reception by the Bills receiver and laid some big hits. It was a nice showing by the rookie.

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