ATLANTA — Sean Payton recently said there’s “no official battle” at backup quarterback for the Broncos. On Friday night, Jarrett Stidham gave him no reason to change his mind.

With starter Bo Nix resting in the preseason opener, Stidham got the start in Denver’s 27-7 win over Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He played the first half and was impressive as the Broncos took a 24-0 halftime lead.

Stidham completed 9 of 15 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown and had a passer rating of 110.7. Sam Ehlinger then played the second half and completed 10 of 14 passes for 67 yards with a passer rating of 81.5. But the Broncos managed just three points in the half.

“I thought he played well,” Payton said of Stidham. “He did a good job in the pocket.”

It was the first game for Davis Webb as offensive coordinator, and the Broncos rolled up 359 yards. Payton, Denver’s fourth-year coach, turned over play-calling duties to Webb after promoting him following three years as quarterbacks coach.

“Smooth,” Payton said of the operation. “Maybe a play or we got to three seconds (on the game clock), but the subs were good. Davis was on point.”

During training camp, the Broncos have been giving Ehlinger some work with the second team over Stidham. It was on Aug. 5 when Payton said there’s “no official battle” to back up Nix.

Stidham is entering his fourth Denver season, having been the backup to Russell Wilson in 2023 and to Nix the past two seasons. Ehlinger was the No. 3 quarterback in 2025, spending most of the season on the practice squad.

Stidham wasted no time in asserting himself. On the Broncos’ first drive, he completed a 40-yard pass to Courtland Sutton to the Falcons 1, and fullback Adam Prentice on the next play ran the ball in for a score and a 7-0 lead.

“I think that’s what we wanted to do from the jump,” Stidham said of the fast start. “We had our list of plays that we were going to try. Just try to get the ball to those guys and let them do their thing.”

Stidham’s first half also included a nifty one-handed catch by Sutton on the sideline for a 16-yard gain. He threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaleel McLaughlin in the second quarter for a 17-0 lead.

The Broncos took a 24-0 lead later in the second quarter when cornerback Jahdae Barron returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown on a Cooper Rush pass deflected by linebacker Karene Reid. It was Denver’s second interception of the game after cornerback Riley Moss had picked off Rush earlier in the second quarter.

In the second half, Denver’s only points came on a 46-yard field goal by Wil Lutz for a 27-7 lead with 4:53 left. Atlanta’s only points came when quarterback Jack Strand scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter, a score set up when McLaughlin lost a fumble at the Denver 17.

Stidham started Denver’s 10-7 loss to New England in the AFC Championship Game last January after Nix was lost the week before with a broken right ankle suffered in a 33-30 overtime win over Buffalo in a divisional playoff game. Stidham mostly struggled in that game but said Friday it’s all about bouncing back.

“I think it’s one of the things I try to hang my hat on is just kind of putting my nose down and just working, and obviously it didn’t go our way in the championship game,” he said. “But it’s football. There’s got to be a winner. There’s got to be a loser. And if you get knocked down, you got to go right back up and get to right back to work. And that’s what it was the entire offseason.”

Payton said the loss to the Patriots wasn’t “just a disappointment for” Stidham but that he “was disappointed in myself” for the defeat.

“One of (Stidham’s) strengths is his resiliency, and I think he’s got a little bit of that it factor,” Payton said.

While Payton has shrugged off there being competition for the backup job, Ehlinger was asked if he sees any.

“There’s a lot of things that are outside of your control and not just with your position and the depth chart and things of that nature,” Ehlinger said. “So it’s not something I can focus on and control. Let’s focus on being the best I can be and supporting everybody in the room.”

Ehlinger said it was “nice going into” the second half with a big lead and that he felt “very comfortable.” He believed he was “efficient” and “made some good plays.”

Nix was one of four offensive starters to not play. The others were wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, running back J.K. Dobbins and center Luke Wattenberg, who have suffered recent injuries in practice that aren’t believed to be long-term.

With backup center Alex Forsyth also out due to an injury, Calvin Throckmorton snapped in the first half and rookie Gavin Ortega in the second half. Throckmorton is a guard, but he did play center all of training camp in 2021 when with New Orleans, then coached by Payton.

On defense, all starters were used, including outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, who recently missed some time in practice. As expected, Eyioma Uwazurike started on the defensive line since he has been the leading candidate throughout training camp to replace the departed John Franklin-Myers.

The Broncos had an issue with rookie long snapper Luke Basso in the third quarter when his snap was low, aborting a 55-yard field goal attempt by Lutz. In the fourth quarter, Basso had a good snap on another Lutz 56-yard attempt, but the kick was short and wide left. And Basso had the snap on Lutz’s 46-yard make.

“Overall, good first time out,” Payton said of the win.

Payton was pleased with Denver’s running game and rush defense. The Broncos rolled up 159 yards on the ground to just 59 for Atlanta.

RJ Harvey started for Dobbins and had five carries for 16 yards. Next up was rookie Jonah Coleman, who had four carries for 24 yards, including a nifty 13-yard run in which he broke some tackles.

“He’s had a good camp,” Payton said. “I like his balance coming out of some of the tackles.”

And Payton sure liked how Stidham looked. He kept the Falcons off balance in the first half, when the Broncos had 224 yards of total offense.

“He’s really good with the operation, quick with the play, his experience, his comfort level, how we’re calling it,” Payton said of Stidham working with Webb. “I thought he handled it well.”

In other words, there’s still “no official battle” at backup quarterback.