What do the Broncos want from their quarterbacks in the preseason opener?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Joe Lombardi wasn’t going to reveal which of the three Denver Broncos quarterbacks would start in Sunday’s preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

But from Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, what he wants is clear:

“Just a clean operation and just playing good football with the situation that’s presented to them,” Lombardi said after practice Thursday. “There’s not a ton of game-planning that goes into these games.”

And also, not a lot of work with the same receiving targets, which can lead to some timing issues.

“You’re in there with a lot of different guys,” Lombardi said. “The way that guys work together, it’s a little bit different than maybe during the season where you’re practicing with the same guys and you know who you’re throwing the routes to. [There] can be a little more uncertainty maybe than a regular-season game.

“So, handle all that, and make good decisions and take the plays that are there. If we call a bad play, make sure nothing bad happens. Just operate well with the conditions that are given.”

In other words, an incompletion for a Broncos quarterback may not be a bad play — not if it’s thrown to the right spot and represents the right decision. So, while numbers produced by the quarterbacks will matter, they won’t be everything.

Jarrett Stidham had a strong day leading the first team. Yes, he was helped by Devaughn Vele’s scene-stealing catch. But during that same goal-to-go period, he had three other touchdown passes to Nate Adkins, Tim Patrick and Michael Bandy.

Stidham also had a touchdown pass in the red-zone seven-on-seven session, finding Marvin Mims Jr. streaking across the back of the end zone after moving to his right for the score.

The sixth-year veteran was also decisive and quick, evidenced by a play-action fake and then a rapid strike to Adam Trautman in another red-zone period that picked up 12 yards in a second-and-5 situation from the 18-yard line of the Broncos defense.

For Bo Nix, it’s not a matter of getting a concept down immediately. But it doesn’t take him long to adjust, which is why Lombardi noted that the area in which he felt Nix had grown the most in the last two weeks was “comfort level with the operation.”

“He’s just getting more comfortable,” Lombardi explained. “We had a pretty good install the last three days and so, he’s had to [have snap restarts on] some of that, but he’s everything that you hope for just with his intelligence.”

And because of his intelligence …

“Then after a couple days, when you’re running the same plays,” Lombardi said, “you just feel like he’s a veteran.”

What Lombardi noted fits neatly with the assessment offered by right tackle and returning team captain Mike McGlinchey early in training camp: a description of a quarterback who doesn’t make the same mistake twice.

“He’s learned fast on the job. and he’s a very competitive dude and he takes a lot of pride in not screwing things up — or if he does once, he’s not going to do it again,” McGlinchey said then.

Nix had some teachable moments leading the Broncos offense Thursday — particularly in a goal-to-go passing period. The defense appeared one step ahead on most plays — including when JL Skinner met Troy Franklin at the 1-yard line, which would have likely been a tackle shy of the end zone under game conditions. But Nix was also done no favors in that period; one pass was dropped and cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine swatted away another attempt to Vele.

Again working with the No. 3 offense, Zach Wilson had one of his nicest passes: a touchdown pass during the goal-to-go period that was a perfectly-placed, outside-shoulder throw.

That came on the heels of some excellent work in the seven-on-seven red-zone period when he fired touchdown passes to Tim Patrick, Javonte Williams and Brandon Johnson, with the Williams and Patrick passes again being ideally placed near the back left corner of the end zone.

Wilson also found himself under pressure with the No. 3 offensive line and absorbed two likely sacks in game conditions.