Denver’s second day of joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams and the final day of a grueling training camp was an intriguing battle between the Broncos’ defense and the Rams’ offense. There were moments when Denver had the upper hand. But there were also times when Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford showed he still had some gas left in the 35-year-old tank.
The Broncos pass rush was active. Denver sacked Stafford three times during the team period. Outside linebacker Frank Clark burst through the Rams’ offensive line to take down Stafford. Inside linebacker Josey Jewell ran up the middle before taking down Stafford. Meanwhile, Nik Bonitto provided constant pressure off the edge.
Denver gave Rams quarterback and former college football darling Stetson Bennett problems. Linebackers Justin Strnad and Christopher Allen combined for a sack. Bennett, a two-time national champion at Georgia, also lost the ball while trying to make a throw in a collapsing pocket.
Bennett almost got picked off by rookie linebacker Drew Sanders, who was all over the field during the team period.
“Yesterday wasn’t good enough,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “This morning, we came out with better energy and it showed in our play.”
Broncos cornerback Essang Bassey, who has a pair of interceptions through two preseason games, continued to strengthen his resume. Bassey picked off Stafford in the red zone and nearly had another interception on the following play, but the ball bounced off his fingers.
Joseph has been impressed with Bassey, who can play corner, nickel and safety.
“(Bassey is) smart,” Joseph said. “Sometimes you have players that are not what you want as prototypes physically, but you trust them. He’s one of those guys.”
Stafford threw two interceptions on Thursday. Jewell recorded a pick on the very first play of the red zone period.
Even though the defense was solid, Stafford proved his arm strength has yet to fade. During 11-on-11, Stafford stepped into the pocket and ripped a 75-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson. Later, Stafford found Jefferson down the middle, where the fourth-year wide receiver caught the ball over Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian.
Stafford topped his deep pass to Jefferson by throwing a touchdown pass to running back Kyren Williams, who made a contested catch over Broncos safety Caden Sterns.
Joseph didn’t like the effort on Wednesday or during the first drive in last week’s preseason loss to the 49ers. But on Thursday, he thought the team did well at establishing dominance from the start.
“In most good defenses, their first 15 plays are the best,” he said. “If you can nail those, it sets up for a good day. We can’t be a team that eases into games and gives up field goals on the first drive.”
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