The Denver Broncos open their 3-game preseason schedule on Friday night against the Atlanta Falcons. Here’s everything you need to know about the game, which won’t feature Broncos quarterback Bo Nix but will feature plenty of key roster battles still being determined.
The key to any preseason game is not expecting to see much of the stars but paying close attention to the backups competing for spots on the 53-man roster.
- Who: Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons
- What: Preseason Game 1
- Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)
- When: Friday, August 14, 9 p.m. EST
- TV: ESPN Unlimited
- Odds: Denver -4.5, Over/Under 39.5
How Broncos & Falcons Finished 2025 Season
The Broncos had a breakthrough year in 2025 in head coach Sean Payton’s 3rd season, going 14-3 overall and earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs.
Denver was ultimately 1 win short of playing for the Super Bowl following a 10-7 home loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. For Broncos fans, the story ended up more about being 1 player short than anything else after Nix fractured his ankle in overtime of the previous week’s AFC Divisional Round win over the Buffalo Bills.
While Nix somehow managed to stay on the field for several plays following his injury as he set up the game-winning field goal, being forced to start backup Jarrett Stidham â in a snowstorm, at that â was too much of a cross to bear.
Nix’s surgically repaired ankle â and a surprise follow-up procedure to fix it â was the biggest story of the offseason for the Broncos.
The Falcons have been 1 of the NFL’s worst teams for the last decade. They haven’t qualified for the playoffs or had a winning season since 2017, and 1st-year head coach Kevin Stefanski â fired after the 2025 season by the Cleveland Browns â is Atlanta’s 3rd head coach in the last 4 seasons.
Most Important Things to Watch for the Broncos
The most critical position battle on the Broncos’ offense is probably at wide receiver, where the top of the depth chart is set with Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton, but there’s a battle royale for targets behind them.
Behind them, watch for big plays from players like 2nd-year wide receiver Pat Bryant and 3rd-year wide receiver Troy Franklin.
On defense, the position to watch is edge rusher, where the Broncos will be taking pains to figure out whether Que Robinson or Jonah Elliss could be a real answer if the NFL were to step in and suspend starter Jonathon Cooper.
Cooper was arrested twice in 1 week this offseason. While the Broncos have come out and publicly supported him in the process, with the seriousness of the domestic violence allegations, there’s definitely a chance the NFL steps in and makes him sit.
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes believes the NFL should do just that instead of waiting for the cases to be adjudicated.
Losing Cooper for any amount of time would have a massive impact on 1 of the NFLâs best defenses. He was 2nd on the Broncos with 8.0 sacks in 2025 and has 16.5 sacks over the last 2 seasons.
Cooper was arrested for the 1st time on June 4 on 2 counts of domestic violence and 1 count of criminal mischief over an incident with his girlfriend. He was arrested again 1 week later on 4 additional charges stemming from violating the protection order placed against him that required him to stay away from his girlfriend.
âI feel like itâs kind of flying under the radar a little bit,â Kimes said on her podcast on July 22. âWhen people are like âthe Broncos defense is goodâ ⦠like the pass rush ⦠their second-best edge rusher is potentially facing a suspension. So I think itâs worth a discussion and I do think this (defense) will be good even if Cooper misses any amount of time. As he should, frankly, if you go look (the arrests) up.â
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