Champ Bailey

The Denver Broncos, as they tend to do at this juncture of the preseason, sat out most of their regulars in their Saturday night game against the Arizona Cardinals; even with the reserves playing the bulk of the minutes, they impressed as the Broncos easily handled the Cardinals 28-14 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Even with the win, Denver sat out 29 players – which is typical for team head coach Mike Shanahan to do on the last preseason game of 2008. The Broncos did their major scoring damage in the fourth quarter as a 38-yard field goal by Matt Prater, an 87-yard touchdown pass from Darrell Hackney to Keary Colbert and an 89-yard interception for a TD by cornerback Jack Williams sealed the deal for the Broncos. Meanwhile, the Cardinals did all of their scoring in the second quarter – a 17-yard Matt Leinart to Leonard Pope TD pass and a 26-yard rushing TD by J.J.Arrington.

Hackney went 17-of-26 for 208 yards and a TD while rushing for 35 yards on 8 carries. Both Leinart and Kurt Warner performed well, with Leinart going 10-14 for 77 yards and a TD while Warner went 4-of-4 for 48 yards; third-team QB Anthony Morelli did not do as well, going 6-of-12 for 78 yards but threw 2 INT’s.

Anthony Aldridge led all Broncos rushers with 110 yards on 23 carries while Arrington led all Cardinals rushers with 31 yards on 5 carries and a score. Colbert had an impressive outing for the Broncos, leading their receivers with 5 receptions for 105 yards and a TD; Jerheme Urban led the Cardinals receivers with 4 receptions for 94 yards. Denver opens their regular season on September 8 as they travel to McAfee Stadium to face the Oakland Raiders for a Monday night tilt while Arizona opens their season on September 7 as they face the San Francisco 49ers.