With Week 3 approaching, Denver's quarterback competition appears headed toward a final decision pretty soon. But whose job will it be?
Paxton Lynch got his turn with the starters on Saturday, leading a touchdown drive to open the game. From there, it was largely unmemorable, going 9 of 13 for 39 yards on the night with Brandon McManus nailing two kicks from 45-plus yards.
Trevor Siemian, the incumbent starter, entered just before halftime and marched Denver down the field, completing passes of four, 10 and 19 yards, with the last going to Jordan Taylor for a touchdown. It sounded like that was enough for coach Vance Joseph.
Joseph told reporters after the game that selecting his starter before the third preseason game "would be ideal," per Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. It's not difficult to read between the lines of the above tweet, nor is it tough to decipher where Joseph is leaning in this quote:
Lynch wasn't all that bad. He didn't make a major mistake, completed a handful of passes (while overthrowing Demaryius Thomas in a one-on-one near the end zone), and escaped the pocket when necessary to gain yards with his feet.
But he's not Siemian, who holds the advantage in experience, which shows when the two split reps. As Around the NFL's Gregg Rosenthal said, it's a wrap. Expect Siemian to accept the crown heading into Week 1 for the second straight year.
