ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – When Vance Joseph grades his top two quarterbacks each day of training camp, the Denver Broncos' first-year head coach is looking for consistency, command, solid decision-making, and ultimately, one quarterback to separate himself from the other.

Though Joseph has no plans to name a starter soon, it appears that, at least in practice, some separation is materializing in the battle between Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch.

Siemian, the incumbent starter, went three for five in Saturday’s scrimmage against the starting defense, with his best throw coming on a 22-yard completion to Bennie Fowler on a perfectly timed route down the left seam.

“He was very consistent with his ball placement, he made the right reads most of the time, he had one ball knocked down, not his fault, but very solid,” Joseph said.

More:Adam Gase: Jay Cutler expressed interest in joining Dolphins, but no deal yet

CTE:Terrell Davis on CTE: 'I can't lie, we're all scared'

Lynch, meanwhile, went zero for four in the scrimmage. His best play, a completion to Kalif Raymond on a 10-yard out-route that would have moved the offense past midfield, but was wiped off because of a block in the back penalty on offensive tackle Donald Stephenson.

Lynch also threw an interception to Chris Harris and admitted after practice that he didn’t see the Pro Bowl cornerback. Lynch said that when he felt the pass rush, he should have taken off running rather than making a bad decision.

“You can’t force those kind of throws,” Lynch said.

Joseph described Saturday’s scrimmage as “very solid” for both quarterbacks, who split snaps with the first-team receivers and No. 1 running back C.J. Anderson.

Thursday’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears should be an even better gauge to see if Siemian is truly starting to pull away from Lynch, much like he did once preseason games started last season.

Still, Saturday’s scrimmage, which were in a controlled environment and running off a script, continued the trend the Broncos have seen out of both quarterbacks since training camp opened late last month. Siemian hasn’t been particularly sharp, but he’s made fewer mistakes. Lynch, while continuing the flash the athleticism that made him a first-round pick in 2016, continues to struggle with decision-making and turnovers.

“Consistency is relative,” Siemian said. “I know there are things we must improve.”