SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Broncos and 49ers came away from their two-plus hours on the practice field Thursday with good vibes and plenty of film to evaluate.
As useful as those joint practices are, there’s something about putting on the game uniform, turning on the lights and playing a real game.
Of course, real on Saturday night is mostly from an evaluation standpoint as Denver opens its three-game preseason slate.
The tape counts. Injuries count. Heck, after preseason games the past two years, head coach Sean Payton contended the scoreboard does, too, despite the final score having zero bearing on the team’s bigger goals.