Daniel Graham

Many in the Denver crowd came hoping to get a glimpse of the future in Tim Tebow and instead got a peek at the past.

Cornerback Dre' Bly's 47-yard interception return set up Detroit's first touchdown in the Lions' 25-20 win over the Denver Broncos on Saturday night.

Bly, who played two seasons in Denver before his unceremonious release following coach Josh McDaniels' hiring in 2009, picked off a pass against the Broncos for the second straight preseason - he did it while with the San Francisco 49ers last year.

Two plays later, Matthew Stafford connected with Calvin Johnson for a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Detroit third-stringer Drew Stanton's 25-yard touchdown on a quarterback draw with 1:53 left was the difference. Brady Quinn drove the Broncos into Lions territory in the closing seconds before Willie Young stripped the ball away and Korey Bosworth recovered.

Tebow's home debut will have to wait at least another week. He sat out with bruised ribs he suffered in the exhibition opener a week ago, much to the disappointment of throngs of Broncos fans donning his No. 15 jersey at Invesco Field.

Kyle Orton, fresh off signing a one-year extension that bought some time for the Broncos to formulate their long-term plans at quarterback, completed 16 of 22 passes for 177 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in four first-half possessions.

Orton has thrown four TD passes in seven drives this preseason despite playing behind a makeshift offensive line, with the team's top three tailbacks sitting out and a turnstile of targets catching his throws.

Jabar Gaffney caught six passes for 98 yards, all from Orton.

Stafford was 13 of 20 for 130 yards, guiding the Lions to scores on all four of their first-half drives.

In all, 16 Broncos sat out, including Champ Bailey , D.J. Williams, Daniel Graham, Chris Kuper, Spencer Larsen, Brandon Stokley, and Demaryius Thomas, the team's top draft pick.

The Broncos hope most of them return next week to play against Pittsburgh in the all-important third preseason game.

Broncos LT Ryan Clady, recovering from offseason knee surgery, did footwork drills with strength coach Rich Tuten on the field a few hours before kickoff.

FS Louis Delmas (groin) sat out for Detroit (1-1).