Sanchez, who is battling with Trevor Siemian for the starting job, went 7-for-8 for 83 yards, with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas on the opening drive of the game.
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The first pass of their 2016 preseason was a left-handed throw by a right-handed quarterback, but the Denver Broncos settled in after Mark Sanchez’ initial off-hand flip as the team’s competition at quarterback didn’t get any more settled.
Trevor Siemian went seven-of-12 for 88 yards, while Paxton Lynch went seven-of-eight for 74 yards. He settled for check-downs when the big play wasn’t there, and threw the ball away at times when nothing was there. “I wasn’t really sure if he was going to go or not, but he wants to be out there with us”.
Veterans inside the Bears locker room can approach a disappointing performance with proper perspective.
The Bears’ defense started to settle into a groove as the first quarter wore on, capitalizing on a turnover as Callahan tipped a Sanchez pass into the waiting hands of Jerrell Freeman for an interception.
Our algorithms expect Sanchez to wind up locking down that starting gig this season, now projecting him for 3,668 passing yards, 20.41 touchdowns and 15.58 interceptions on a 58.30 completion percentage in 2016. “He knows that”, Kubiak said. “Mark needs to protect the ball”. Sanchez finished 10-for-13 for 99 yards and a quarterback rating of 91.5. Hall had blanket coverage on three deep passes to the end zone and used his long arms to break up all three throws.
It could’ve been worse, had Denver’s Brandon McManus not failed on two field goal attempts.
If anyone is going to be replaceable, well, let’s just say the whole Cutler experiment would surely be coming to a close if he isn’t able to do something with the talent that surrounds him again this year. With mainstays like Alshon Jeffery returning along with Kevin White looking to prove himself as a valuable commodity to the Bears, it will be interesting to see if Cutler can keep this pace up. The Broncos plan to have Sanchez play the first quarter and Siemian play the second. Quarterback Peyton Manning opted to retire on top after earning his second ring and first with the Broncos, while backup Brock Osweiler bolted the organization to sign with the Texans out of free agency on a four-year, $72 million contract.
Kubiak, though, wasn’t ready to commit to anything.
The Bears are still Jay Cutler’s team, and we are unlikely to see Cutler or any of the Bears starters beyond the first quarter. So just getting three (preseason) games in, four games in _ of just getting some reps, and just getting his conditioning.Get hit a little bit, get some soreness and work through that.
Sanchez is now penciled in as the starter but Lynch could change that with a strong preseason performance.
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The Broncos’ larger question of the starting quarterback has still not been decided, and this game did not make that decision any more clear.
