ENGLEWOOD — Tempers flared at Broncos practice in the biggest fight of training camp.

It happened Tuesday near the end of practice during a team period between the starting offense and starting defense.

“We’re in the dog days. It was eventually going to happen,” wide receiver Troy Franklin told The Denver Gazette. “We didn’t have any joint practices. So, everything’s kind of just bottled in. It just happens, though. We’re all out there competing. Energy was high.”

Quarterback Bo Nix got knocked to the ground when the pocket collapsed. He got up and threw the football at defensive lineman Malcolm Roach, who appeared to be celebrating. The tension kept boiling.

“Coach (Sean) Payton talks about how to practice from day one. We all know on defense to avoid the quarterback, right?” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “It gets competitive, obviously, and guys are rushing to win the down. Sometimes they get too close. We simply remind them. But Bo is our quarterback, and we don’t want anyone near Bo.”

Two plays later, Nix threw an interception to linebacker Alex Singleton and a fight broke out on the opposite end of the field. Offensive and defensive linemen clashed with reserve center Calvin Throckmorton losing his helmet. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto jumped on the pile and landed on right tackle Mike McGlinchey.

Nix grabbed Bonitto by his leg to remove him. They were pulled apart by teammates. The scrum was eventually settled. Throckmorton later exited practice and appeared to have blood on his head. He did not return.

“It’s gonna happen. We just can’t cross the line,” offensive coordinator Davis Webb said. “I think Sean said that, and I agree. I’m glad that we’re fiery. I love the competition out here. It’s been unbelievable to watch both sides of the ball win some plays and win some periods. … We can’t cross the line and that’s offense and defense. That’s not just one person or one position group. We all had a part in that. So, we’re going to handle that in this meeting and make sure we’re the Denver Broncos — not offense vs. defense.”

Nix spoke with reporters Tuesday and downplayed the incident.

“I love it. It’s football,” Nix said. “It’s getting me ready for the games coming up. It’s a physical practice out there played by physical people. It got intense and we were just really enjoying it. Sometimes, in the dog days of summer, practice gets long and the intensity runs high.”

Preseason review

Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, Joseph and Webb spoke after practice Tuesday at Broncos Park. All three coordinators reflected on the Broncos preseason road win, 27-7, over the Falcons last week.

Joseph: “Our big focus now is catching the football. We caught two (interceptions) and probably dropped two. I think also, too, when you watch the game, the ball’s coming out really fast. That may be a trend for us. Our rush is so good that the ball may come out fast.”

Webb: “I love the way we came out. Six plays (and) go get a touchdown. You felt the energy on the sideline kind of go throughout the team. That’s what we want to do, and that was a good start. Now we have to go back-to-back.”

Rizzi: “What I didn’t like was the second half was just too sloppy. We had a substitution mistake on the field goal, we botched one of the snaps (and) we had another holding penalty on a big return. So, that’s the stuff that we have to get cleaned up.”

Briefly

The Packers plan to start quarterback Jordan Love and some starters against the Broncos on Friday at Empower Field, Packers coach Matt LaFleur told reporters Tuesday in Green Bay. … Punter Jeremy Crawshaw was “fighting a bug” in the preseason opener at the Falcons, Rizzi said. … Webb discussed his goals for Nix in his first preseason start against Green Bay. He said: “Just a clean operation. He hasn’t played in a while obviously. Just kind of get all the feels back.”