With Trevor Siemian having yet to practice this week, Paxton Lynch earning his second career start on Sunday is looking more and more likely. And while a sizable portion of Broncos Country has been calling for Lynch to start for awhile now, there’s reason to be nervous, especially considering Siemian just had the best game of his young career.
In his lone start, Lynch looked to be in way over his head. While he did complete 66 percent of his passes for 223 yards and a touchdown, he also tossed an interception and was sacked six times against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5.
Like we’ve seen with Siemian, a lot of the blame fell on the offensive line, but the protection isn’t likely to be significantly better on Sunday than it was back in early October. The Broncos need a quarterback who can stand in the pocket and deliver despite an onslaught of pressure, as Siemian did last weekend, and nobody knows if the 22-year-old Lynch is capable of doing that.
He certainly wasn’t against the Falcons.
On Thursday, Gary Kubiak spoke about his rookie quarterback, detailing how he’s improved in the last two months.
On Lynch’s comfort level with the offense
“He’s more comfortable than he was six, seven weeks ago. He’s more comfortable in the base things. He’s just more comfortable with the group, you can tell. He’s been around now for a while. All those things add up to him being a little more comfortable in everything he’s doing each and every day.”
On how Lynch has progressed since Week 5
“He’s further along. He’s further along mentally and further along in what we ask him to do on a weekly basis. [He’s further along] in how quickly he processes information as compared to six, seven weeks ago.”
On how the run game can help Lynch
“That’s what will help [Lynch] the most. We’ve been in a couple of really close games with New Orleans, playing from ahead for a little bit and Kansas City, playing from behind a little bit. We’ve stayed with it. We’re able to get some production out of it. I think it helped us move the ball.”
On what Lynch has learned over the last two months
“I would tell you from a coaching perspective, it’s more us seeing what he handled that day. What he could do—his comfort level. That’s what we have to look at. I’m sure he would probably go from an experience standpoint, the speed of the game and on game day being the starter, and also the night before the game being the starter with the team. Those are things that are a little bit different than showing up knowing you’re the backup on any given day.”
