Siemian, Sanchez struggle in Broncos loss, Lynch ‘always in mix’

Head coach Gary Kubiak said he’s “always been in the mix” in the bid to become the Denver Broncos starting quarterback.

No, not second-year pro Trevor Siemian, who many felt could have seized the job with a solid outing Saturday at home against the San Francisco 49ers.

Siemian’s line: 10 for 14, 75 yards, zero touchdowns and one costly interception.

No, it wasn’t veteran offseason acquisition Mark Sanchez, who came into training camp as the presumed starter but yet hasn’t distanced himself as the guy.

Sanchez’s line: 10 for 17, 120 yard, and no picks nor touchdowns.

It was rookie first-round draft pick Paxton Lynch who Kubiak thought “did great” against the 49ers Saturday, tossing two touchdowns and a late pick.

“He did some really good stuff tonight,” Kubiak said. “He made some mistakes, too. I think I’ve continued to tell you guys that he is behind the others from a knowledge standpoint as far as running the group. Obviously we need to keep coming, keep bring him along.”

Lynch said after the game he always believed he was competing for a starting job, “no matter what the situation was.”

“I’m confident that I have an opportunity to make the best of this opportunity, and that’s what I’ve been doing,” Lynch said. “Those guys have been playing well, too, in front of me, so we’re going to keep that going, and I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Lynch’s line: 15 for 26, 113 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

As far as a decision on who will run with the ones come the regular season opener against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8, Kubiak indicated which way he’s leaning about as much as he has since minicamp.

“I foresee myself trying to find a way to fix some mistakes,” Kubiak said. “I’m going to take it a day at a time. That’s where I’m going right now.”

Early on Saturday night, the shouts from social media loudly favored one quarterback, though:

Siemian. Starter.

But then … pick six.

By many accounts, Siemian had a chance to seize the Broncos starting quarterback role with a solid performance (likely needing the help of a poor Sanchez showing) against the 49ers.

And, leading a team onto the field for the first time in his career, he looked sharp from the start, going 10 for his first 11 passes and engineering a 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive to start the game.

But two short drives ending in punts bookended an interception for a touchdown in the second-year quarterback’s remaining three drives.

Sanchez too engineered a scoring drive in his first series of work to start the second quarter –– nine plays for 55 yards ending in a Brandon McManus field goal.

But his performance was marred by two late first half fumbles that stalled potential scoring drives within the 49ers red zone.

“They both have done some good things,” Kubiak said of Sanchez and Siemian. “Obviously, we’re coming out of this one game, so we’re talking about some turnovers that we have to get fixed. If you’re not turning the ball over, and moving the ball the way we moved it, I’d be a lot happier right now and hopefully the result would have been better.”

With four turnovers tonight (two interceptions, two fumbles), Denver’s preseason total comes to five in its two games.

“At the end of the day, it’s your job to protect the ball. That’s the most important thing,” Kubiak said. “That’s something that coming out of tonight wasn’t good enough.”