Trevor Siemian will start for Broncos in Week 13 with Paxton Lynch injured

Paxton Lynch finally got a chance to start his first game of the season for the Denver Broncos on Sunday, but now he’s out 2-4 weeks with an ankle injury. The 2016 first-round pick suffered the injury in the third quarter of the 21-14 loss to the Oakland Raiders. Trevor Siemian, who took over and led the Broncos to 14 unanswered points, will start in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins, head coach Vance Joseph announced Monday.

What happened? With under seven minutes left in the third quarter, Lynch suffered a non-contact ankle injury. At that point in the contest, he had completed 9 of 14 passes for 41 yards. Lynch tried to play though the injury.

But after a 1-yard completion to receiver Emmanuel Sanders with 6:22 left on the clock, Lynch laid on the turf in pain. Denver trailed 21-0 at that moment, and Siemian finished the game for Lynch. Lynch went to the sidelines and sat on the bench in tears.

Siemian threw for 149 yards and two scores, but that wasn’t enough to knock off the Raiders. After the game, Lynch told ESPN’s Jeff Legwold that he was frustrated with the injuries he suffered in his career.

“I was just more frustrated with having another injury and having to come out of the game after recovering from another injury,” Lynch said. “And then the first game back I hurt my ankle.”

Lynch suffered a right shoulder injury against the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 26 and missed two months of practice because of it. Lynch returned to practice earlier this month, and Joseph named Lynch the starter against Oakland following a few lackluster starts from Brock Osweiler.

Siemian was originally the starting quarterback this season, but Joseph benched him after a 29-19 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8. So far this season, Siemian has thrown for 1,818 yards to go along with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Why is this important? The Broncos are 3-8 and are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. They will most likely miss the playoffs this year. Bad quarterback play has plagued Denver this year. Lynch, Siemian, and Osweiler have all started games this season — and each player failed to consistently produce at a high level.

Now, the Broncos will have to rely on Siemian to salvage their 2017 campaign.