ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak admits the team still has roster choices to make and the deadline to make those decisions is fast approaching.

To that end, the Broncos face the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night in Denver, and the team’s starters are expected to play at least a half while some of them could play into the third quarter in what will be the last dress rehearsal for the regulars before the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Carolina Panthers.

Some things to look for against the Rams:

Paxton Lynch has largely gone against third-teamers in his two appearances in the preseason, so Saturday night's showing against the Rams will be important. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Quarterback order. Trevor Siemian will get the start, but barring a complete meltdown by Siemian in what is expected to be a half of work, the real intrigue is who will be the quarterback who follows him-- rookie Paxton Lynch or Mark Sanchez? That will say a lot about the status of the depth chart at quarterback, at least at this point. And, unless the Broncos have a late change of heart, Lynch is expected to be the second quarterback against the Rams. Lynch has largely gone against third-teamers in his two appearances in the preseason, so if the Broncos want to consider him as the No. 2 quarterback (if Siemian maintains his hold on the starting job), they have to see Lynch against defensive personnel groupings that more resemble what he would face in the regular season. The Broncos have even considered having Lynch start the third quarter with some of the offensive starters still in the game.

The run game. After two preseason games, the Broncos have thrown the ball more times (89) than any team in the league. That’s a 44.5-attempts-per-game clip and not the pace they want to have in the regular season. Left tackle Russell Okung will play at least some Saturday night with most of the offensive line the Broncos had slotted as the starters throughout training camp. Okung will be at left tackle, Max Garcia is expected at left guard with Matt Paradis at center and Donald Stephenson at right tackle. With injuries to Ty Sambrailo (elbow) and Darrion Weems (concussion), the Broncos have a decision to make at right guard, but Michael Schofield will start there against the Rams. The Broncos will also likely kick the tires on their run game a little more than they did in the first two preseason games, when they were trying to get the three quarterbacks the most work in the passing games as possible. Or, as wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said: “We know if we get the run game going, things will happen in the passing game. It goes together."

Returners. The Broncos are expected to use wide receiver Jordan Norwood early as the primary returner. That means the two rookies who have handled most of the return work -- Bralon Addison and Kalif Raymond -- haven’t shown quite enough yet to get past Norwood on the depth chart. Norwood, who has been listed as the top returner on the depth chart throughout the preseason but did not have a kickoff or punt return in the first two games, will get his work in against the Rams before the rookies get a chance. If Raymond and Addison want to make their respective cases, they’ll have to do it later in the game and now is the time to get noticed.

Bubble spots. When it comes to the roster, the lingering question is whether the injuries on the offensive line (Sambrailo, Weems and James Ferentz) and at tight end (Garrett Graham and Jeff Heuerman) will affect the Broncos' roster decisions. If they feel like, at least in the opening weeks, they have to keep one more player at those two spots than they had planned, that could impact how many running backs or wide receivers they keep. The Broncos could keep three running backs in addition to fullback Andy Janovich or four backs in addition to Janovich. At wide receiver, they will likely have to decide between keeping five or six (they kept six last season).

Readiness. Let’s face it, the Broncos’ opening month is no picnic with games against the Panthers, Colts, Bengals and Buccaneers. Saturday night against the Rams will provide a rather tidy measuring stick of where things are, as the Broncos will have a compressed timetable over the next 12 days for a Thursday night season opener. And start with the turnovers -- they’ve had five on offense in two games. And they’ve looked sluggish on special teams, with little pop in the return game to go with a blocked field goal and another kick off the upright in Chicago.