Paxton Lynch first half review vs. San Francisco 49ers

Paxton Lynch struggled for the second straight preseason game, this time against the San Francisco 49ers in his first start…

The good news? The Denver Broncos lead 20-0 after the first half of play against the San Francisco 49ers. The bad news? It wasn’t the best performance for Paxton Lynch:

Lynch started for the Broncos in their second preseason game, a pre-planned move by head coach Vance Joseph, who wanted to give Lynch and his competitor Trevor Siemian an equal shot at winning the starting job in game situations.

There were penalties that nullified some decent plays by Lynch, but ultimately, his stat line of nine completions on 13 attempts for 39 yards is tough to swallow.

The plays for Lynch in this game looked 100 percent scripted, and he didn’t often come off of his first read.

His best passes were on a back shoulder route to Bennie Fowler in the end zone that would have been a touchdown if Fowler wasn’t interfered with, and a potential touchdown strike to Demaryius Thomas if Thomas weren’t held by a defensive back.

At first glance, it appeared the deep ball to Thomas was a bad overthrow, but a further review indicates it may not have been after all.

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The biggest mistake Lynch made in this game was on a third down early on, where he completely missed Thomas underneath for an easy first down and completion, instead throwing the ball into harm’s way and incomplete further downfield.

Where Lynch offers something that Siemian doesn’t is as a scrambler. Lynch had 27 yards on some very nice runs when the coverage was tight, including a couple for first downs.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to ‘win’ a starting quarterback job. Lynch should be given credit where it’s due, even on throws that ended up being nullified by penalties or fallen incomplete as a result of a penalty that wasn’t called. That being said, the Broncos were given great field position on four first-half turnovers by the 49ers, and they came away with a total of just 20 points.

Trevor Siemian came in and scored a touchdown on his first drive, on a beautiful throw to Jordan Taylor’s back shoulder.

At this point, it seems like it will be tough for Lynch to overcome his competition for the starting quarterback job.