Sean Payton still remembers the first time he got to call plays in an NFL game.

It was Dec. 5, 1999 when he was in his first season as the quarterbacks coach with the New York Giants. It was a rivalry game against the Jets, coached then by Bill Parcells and defensive coordinator Bill Belichick.

As Payton was getting ready for the Broncos’ second preseason game against the Cardinals on Saturday night, it had already been decided that quarterbacks coach Davis Webb would get his first crack at calling plays and Payton went back to the stat sheet from that game in 1999 and told Webb, “See if you can beat this.”

“And he did,” Payton said after Denver’s 27-7 win at Empower Field at Mile High.

At just 30 years old, Webb is already entering year three with the Broncos. Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham have consistently praised the working relationship they have with Webb and the success it’s led to on the field. But now Webb got to add something to his resume beyond player development.

“That experience is invaluable,” Payton said. “Until you do it, it’s much faster than you think compared to the college game. You want to make a good impression, but he did a good job. He did a really good job.

“The biggest thing is getting on to the next play as soon as you’ve called that play. I thought he was fast, and efficient and had a lot of energy. Players responded. I thought he did a great job. So it’s no different than a player that has a real good game. There’s a confidence then like, ‘I can do this at a high level.’”

The Broncos scored points on each of their first three drives against the Cardinals (two touchdowns and a field goal), with the offense finishing with 562 yards on 7.8 yards per play and efficiency in both the run and pass game.

“I know tonight was a big deal for him. If you are a coach and you want to be a play caller in this league, when you get your first opportunity, it’s a big deal” Stidham said. “Honestly, I was super proud of him and super happy for him. He is an incredible coach and he is going to be an incredible coach for a very long time in this league. I have been fortunate to be around some of the greats and Davis is amazing, and I can’t speak highly enough about him.

“I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go because we only did practice yesterday with him calling it in the headset. It was really fun to see how he flowed within the game. He has a bright future for sure.”

Stidham offseason work showing up in preseason

Speaking of Stidham, he continues to be one of the top performers across the league in the preseason. With Nix not seeing any game action Saturday night, Stidham got to play the entire first half and led the aforementioned three straight scoring drives to open the game.

After finishing with 240 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona, Stidham is up to 376 yards and four touchdowns on 78.9% completions so far in the preseason.

Entering his third year with the Broncos, Stidham looks like a different player and even Nix recently mentioned to Stidham that he’s moving so much better on the field right now.

“I think a lot of that goes to offseason training,” Stidham said. “My guy that I train with back home in Texas, Nic Shimonek — him and I, we do so much different stuff in the offseason. I feel like now that I have two full offseasons with him, it’s been really beneficial from a body standpoint, just being able to move certain ways and bend and take hits certain ways. I think it’s really, really helped me.”

Young wide receivers get taste of success

According to Payton, the second-year leap is “happening” for Troy Franklin.

The former Oregon standout wide receiver and college teammate of Nix’s has been one of the talks of training camp with his performances on the practice field, but he’s now beginning to show it in the games as well.

After finishing with just two touchdown catches in last regular season, Franklin has already added two more to his name in the preseason — both coming on Saturday night.

“I’ve said this a bunch of times, it has to happen on the field,” Payton said. “You see it in the preseason every year, some players begin to make some plays, and it carries over. So, that’s why these games are important. Obviously, it’s challenging when you’re not going to play your starting group, but when you see growth like that, and every year we don’t know who those players are going to be, but he played well.”

It wasn’t just Franklin that impressed from the wide receiver corps as rookie Pat Bryant led the Broncos with 70 yards on four catches as he looks to carve out a role in the offense this season.

“He’s doing amazing. Obviously, big expectations for him coming in as a receiver that we drafted, but he keeps getting acclimated and just like with any young guy, there’s a learning curve,” Stidham said of Bryant. “The more he’s playing, the more confidence he’s gaining and (we’re) just trying to get the ball in his hands. He made some really great plays tonight.”