‘Sunshine’ gleams, Lynch solid in Broncos preseason finale

His first NFL start at quarterback will go down as a loss, but rookie Paxton Lynch was solid in the Denver Broncos preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals Thursday.

The rookie gunslinger and wide receiver Jordan Taylor were two of the few bright spots in Denver’s 38-17 loss in the desert, hooking up for two touchdowns.

“He [Lynch] continues to make great plays because of his ability, but it continues to be about consistency,” head coach Gary Kubiak said after the game. “But I think the strides he’s made since we got him have been very good, and we’ve got to continue to make some more.”

Lynch finished the game with just the two scores, paired with a pick-six late in the game, on 13-of-22 passing for 214 yards.

Taylor went for a team-high 109 yards on four catches, trailing only rookie wide receiver Mose Frazier (6). Fraizer, who was a teammate of Lynch’s in college at Memphis, had 79 yards receiving.

After the game, Kubiak said of Taylor: “Obviously he’s a kid who’s done a lot of good things since he’s been here, got to play the most he’s played, and he goes out and makes plays.”

Special teams experiment

Just days removed from the club parting ways with long-time punter Britton Colquitt, his replacement, rookie Riley Dixon, had an off-and-on night booting the football.

In five punts Thursday night, Dixon averaged 37.4 yards and had one punt fly just 18 yards.

After the game, Kubiak put Dixon’s performance on the coaching staff, saying the young punter had been experimenting with special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis a bit with punts.

“… Obviously it didn’t work out very good tonight, so put that on us as coaches. But he’s got a bright future,” Kubiak said.

Dixon became the starting punter and holder this week with Colquitt’s release.

Running back battle

Kubiak said he and general manager John Elway will sit down Friday to sort out the final 53-man roster, taking a look at performances in a number of different position groups.

Among the more competitive battles is for the remaining running back slots on the team. Whether the team goes with three backs, four backs, Kubiak said he didn’t know. Either way, it’ll leave one or more players on the outside looking in.

C.J. Anderson will likely be the team’s starter heading into the regular season, with rookie Devontae Booker at the second running back role, leaving a three-way battle for the remaining slots between Kapri Bibbs, Ronnie Hillman and Juwan Thompson.

Bibbs received the bulk of the touches Thursday, rushing the ball 10 times for 51 yards, while Hillman and Thompson contributed in a limited role (a combined 8 carries for 16 yards).

Hillman led the team in rushing in 2015, going for 863 yards, and said he won’t be “too nervous” heading into the final round of roster cuts this weekend.

“Whatever happens, happens. I will be playing football somewhere,” Hillman said after the game. “I love to play here (Denver) and if it works out that way, it works out that way. I will be nervous, but I will be playing football somewhere.”

Thompson said he tried to solidify himself by playing not only running back but also fullback and special teams.

“In the next 24 hours we will see what happens. You can’t think too much about it,” Thompson said. “We did our part by playing all preseason games that we could and getting all the looks we could. This comes down to the coaches.”

Follow 104.3 The Fan digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.