RJ Harvey sees bright signs in Broncos’ rushing plan after Denver’s 27-7 preseason win

The Denver Broncos opened their preseason with a 27-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons, and reporter RJ Harvey pointed to one clear theme after the game: sustaining success on the ground can make the rest of the offense easier to run all season. In preseason, teams experiment, but the Broncos’ approach still mattered, because a rushing game that can produce consistent chunks shapes how a defense plays the pass and how often an offense can stay ahead of the down-and-distance math.

According to the account from Yahoo Sports, Denver’s defense contributed to the early rhythm by forcing turnovers during the contest. That matters for the broader picture of the Broncos’ offseason work, because turnover production can function as a short-circuit for offensive inconsistency. When a defense can hand the offense more possessions, even a young or rotational quarterback look can become more effective.

On offense, Jarrett Stidham entered with starting-level responsibility and, as described by Harvey’s recap, played well at quarterback. The headline storyline here was not a specific statistical output, but rather the way the Broncos managed the game plan in a first look setting, including an ability to keep drives moving while still giving the coaching staff room to test personnel packages.

The most emphasized creative element came from Offensive Coordinator Davis Webb, who, per the same report, dialed up a number of creative plays. Creative calling during the preseason often indicates a staff’s confidence in both scheme and execution, especially when it is paired with a focus on the run. Even with the usual caveats about preseason opponent quality and rotation patterns, offensive creativity tends to be most meaningful when it aligns with a team’s core identity, in this case, getting the rushing attack to the point of being “dynamic.”

For the Broncos, “dynamic” is the operative word because it implies more than one-dimensional rushing. It suggests the ability to vary looks, generate explosive runs, and keep defenses from settling into predictable run-and-pass sequencing. Harvey’s optimism is essentially that this offense can turn the run into more than a baseline expectation and instead make it a reliable driver of offensive efficiency.

As Denver moves through the preseason, the next question is whether the same ground emphasis carries over when the opponent’s personnel gets sharper and game-plan complexity increases. Fans should watch how the Broncos protect the run with blocking consistency, whether they can translate red-zone opportunities into points, and how frequently their playmakers can turn designed runs or run-pass concepts into first-down opportunities.

Because this coverage is rooted in a single preseason game, it should be viewed as early evidence rather than a final assessment. Preseason results do not decide a regular-season identity on their own, but the combination of forced turnovers, a productive quarterback preview from Stidham, and Webb’s reported creativity provides a credible foundation for the kind of rushing performance Harvey wants to see from Denver.

For what comes next, the Broncos will likely continue balancing repetition with experimentation, trying to lock in a run-centric rhythm while also preserving flexibility for later phases of the season. If the coaching staff can keep the offense’s run plan coherent across different groups of players, the “dynamic” rushing expectation becomes more than a preseason narrative.