Written by Gregg Rosenthal at NFL.com
Trevor Siemian took another step toward winning the starting job in Denver. Mitchell Trubisky did his best to ignite a quarterback battle in Chicago. In Cleveland, confusion remains on top of the depth chart.
On the first heavy night of action this preseason with six games, there was thankfully a scarcity of major injuries and plenty of opportunity for overreaction. Here are the stories that should stick, starting with all the quarterback intrigue:
1. Broncos quarterback Siemian looked like a competent, unspectacular starter as usual for his three drives Thursday night, completing 6-of-7 passes for 51 yards. His only incompletion came on a nice deep throw that Emmanuel Sanders couldn’t come down with. While Siemian hardly lit up the scoreboard, he made quick, smart decisions with the ball.
Paxton Lynch, on the other hand, repeatedly held on to the ball too long and misfired on a few open throws. He was lucky to avoid a fumble on one scramble. His final stats didn’t look that much different than Siemian, but he only led the Broncos to three first downs in four drives.
This uninspiring “Siemian wins by default” storyline mirrors the reports coming out of training camp. It was a dark enough night that reporters asked coach Vance Joseph if little-known third-stringer Kyle Sloter is a legitimate option to start. Lynch will need a big performance when he starts next week or Siemian figures to start getting all the starting reps in practice.
2. Mitchell Trubisky was Thursday night’s biggest winner. Sure, he was facing third-string Broncos defenders who were only playing man coverage. But a few of his pinpoint throws on the run and one third-and-17 conversion from the pocket with pressure in his face were impressive no matter the scenario.
The Bears didn’t score a point, gaining only four first downs in six drives with Mike Glennon and Mark Sanchez running the show. Glennon threw an ugly pick-six on his first drive, his lack of pocket presence notable when he threw a pass while getting hit. Trubisky, meanwhile, led the Bears on a two-minute touchdown drive in his first NFL action. He led the Bears to 17 points and 14 first downs on his first three drives before stalling some in the fourth quarter.
If nothing else, this result should inspire coach John Fox to eventually stop wasting second-team snaps on Sanchez. Glennon remains a strong bet to start Week 1, but every positive Trubisky performance will increase public pressure and eat into Glennon’s regular season job security.
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