Clough: Broncos made ‘right move’ by starting Siemian vs. Raiders

As expected, Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak announced Wednesday after practice that rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch will play Sunday at home against the Oakland Raiders.

However, what was somewhat unexpected was that second-year pro Trevor Siemian will remain the starter following the team’s elimination from the playoffs last Sunday in Kansas City.

Kubiak said Wednesday that he was preparing both Siemian and Lynch to play on Sunday in the team’s season finale, but didn’t reveal exactly how much each young quarterback will play.

“I think Trevor deserves the right to go back out there as a starter. He’s done a lot of good things this year. He’s a young player that needs to keep going. I want him to get the Kansas City taste out of his mouth. It was a tough outing,” Kubiak said. “Paxton is also going to play. I’m preparing both, and you’ll see them both in the game.”

Siemian’s performance in the 33-10 loss was arguably the worst of his career, as he threw for only 183 yards with a pick on 17-of-43 passing.

But Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan’s Sandy Clough lauded Kubiak’s decision on Wednesday, saying that the optics of allowing Siemian to start the season were important.

“You’re creating an impression of sorts if you don’t start Siemian on Sunday against Oakland in Week 17 in a game that means nothing to the Broncos, admittedly, but means a lot to the Raiders,” Clough said. “

‘And for a defending world champion to start a raw rookie, who frankly has been dreadful in the two previous games he’s had to start this year because Trevor Siemian was injured, to do that would in part suggest that Siemian is totally to blame for what has gone wrong with the Broncos.”

Clough didn’t leave Siemian blameless in the Broncos recent offensive woes — which include scoring just two touchdowns and 23 points in the last three games — but offered that he should be the scapegoat for a poor offensive showing in the 2016 season across the board.

“Siemian played badly on Sunday night. He was a big reason that the Broncos were so inept offensively,” Clough said. “But whether it be on Sunday night or in previous games, he was not completely at fault in explaining the effects and the impact of Denver’s regression offensively in this month of December.”

By most accounts, Siemian exceeded expectations in 2016, going 7-6 in 13 starts while throwing for 3,194 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 9 picks.

But Sunday provides Lynch, who will see action in four games this season (three starts) much-needed game reps against a team in Oakland that still has something to play for — an AFC West title.

Denver’s first-round draft pick took over for an injured Siemian in Week 4 and helped the Broncos to a 27-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in arguably his best outing of his short career (14-of-24 for 170 yards, 1 touchdown in just more than a half of play).

However, Lynch struggled in his two previous starts — also in relief of an injured Siemian — including a Week 5 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and a Week 13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the latter, the rookie threw for just 104 yards and no touchdowns on 12-of-24 passing but did not surrender a turnover.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.