Packers fall to Broncos, 27-2

The Broncos extended their lead to 10 with Nix rolling out and hitting Tim Patrick for a 2-yard touchdown off play-action 13:14 left in the first half.

Green Bay went three-and-out on its next possession against the Denver starting defense but got another chance after JL Skinner was flagged for roughing the kicker when he came into contact with the plant leg of Packers punter Daniel Whelan.

Green Bay was forced to punt again after another three-and-out, and Denver took over at its own 20 after a 58-yard Whelan punt that went into the end zone for a touchback.

Jarrett Stidham replaced Nix on Denver’s third possession. Green Bay had Denver in a third-and-18, but Stidham hit Greg Dulcich for 18 yards. The Broncos moved all the way up to the 46 after an unnecessary roughness call on Ralen Goforth.

Denver elected to punt for the first time after Alex Palczewski was flagged for a false start when the Broncos were attempting to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Green Bay 45.

The Packers took over at their own 5 after Riley Dixon’s 45-yard punt. Emanuel Wilson gained six yards on first down, following a lane cleared by left tackle Kadeem Telfort.

On third-and-4, Clifford connected with Heath on an 8-yard out for a first down. Clifford then kept it himself on an 11-yard scramble on third-and-10 to keep the drive going. An 8-yard pass to Heath set up third-and-1 at the two-minute warning.

A roughing the passer penalty on Jonah Elliss gave Green Bay fresh set of downs at the Denver 46. Clifford tried a deep ball to Joel Wilson on the next play, but Blake Watson picked it off and returned the interception 56 yards to the Packers’ 14 with 1:43 remaining.

On third-and-5, Stidham ran in a 9-yard touchdown to push the Broncos’ lead to 17-0 with 30 seconds left in the first half.

Rookie Michael Pratt entered the game during the final series of the first half, but the Packers chose to run out the clock with a handoff to Ellis Merriweather.