In general, the first two weeks of preseason are useless in terms of trying to derive what it means for the regular season. Starters play sparingly, if at all, and games are used to evaluate new draft picks and those on the roster bubble.

But Week 3 of the preseason is commonly referred to as "a dress rehearsal" for real football; starters often play the first half and there could even be some game-planning. With that in mind, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who spent the offseason figuring out how to replace Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler, has named Trevor Siemian the starter for Saturday's matchup against the Rams.

"Trevor will start the game this week," Kubiak said Monday. "They're all going to play, and the biggest thing I have to take a look at, too, is how I'm going to play our starters as far as how I get the rotation going. ... It's down to the nitty-gritty here. ... I'm going to make a decision next week, and we're going to go to work."

This development comes days after the Broncos' other candidate to start the season, Mark Sanchez, had a ragged performance against the 49ers.

"I just squandered a great opportunity to separate myself and I put the team in a bad situation," Sanchez said of an effort that included two turnovers. "There's no excuse for that, poor, poor quarterback play."

Meanwhile, Siemian was sharp, completing 10 of his first 11 passes and finishing 10 of 14 for 75 yards. The only blemish was a pick-six to 49ers safety Eric Reid. Adding insult to injury: Siemian hurt his throwing shoulder trying to bring down Reid, though he's expected to practice Tuesday.

"I think Trevor did a good job the other night. Obviously he has one play he'd like to have back, or it probably would, it would have, been as good as it could be," Kubiak said. "So, I'm going to go back and give him a chance to do that again."

There's also rookie first-rounder Paxton Lynch, who continues to show glimpses of franchise-quarterback potential:

And he's also in the mix for the regular-season starting gig.

"He's always been in the mix," Kubiak said over the weekend. "I just told you guys that he's behind the other two from a knowledge standpoint, but we've been out there competing every day. Everybody is in competition to play."

But Kubiak understands that this is a process, particularly given that his two starters from a year ago are no longer with the team.

"We've got three quarterbacks, two of which weren't on this team last year and one that had one regular-season snap," Kubiak explained. "I knew this was going to take some time and I think (it's) a credit to them in how well they've battled and pushed each other. It's down to the nitty-gritty here and we don't have to, but I'm going to make a decision next week and we're going to go to work. They've all put themselves in position to get the opportunity to go out there and compete."

In the meantime, you're up, Trevor Siemian.