Before season opener, Broncos have decisions to make

[Miles]

DENVER — The preseason is over, and Head Coach Vic Fangio and the Broncos are on to the Oakland Raiders.


But before the team gets to that Sept. 9 “Monday Night Football” game, there are some decisions to make.


Namely, which player will serve as the team’s backup quarterback during the season’s initial stretch.


With Drew Lock battling a thumb injury, the Broncos must decide if Kevin Hogan or Brett Rypien can fill that void — or if they’ll look outside the building for a solution.


Following Thursday’s game, Fangio didn’t have an immediate answer.


“I don’t know the answer to that yet,” said Fangio when asked if Hogan had won the backup job. “We’ve obviously got to look at the tape to get a really good feel for what happened on each and every play. Obviously John [Elway] will play a major part in that, too, so we’ll see.”


Hogan finished 12-of-23 for 138 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions and a 48.8 quarterback rating in his final audtion for the role. One of the interceptions came on a last-second Hail Mary attempt to end the first half.


“My resume [over] the last month and a half, I’m proud of it,” Hogan said. “I feel like I’m playing good football. I thought the preseason games didn’t always go the way you hope. I feel like throughout camp, I played some real good football and have the confidence of my teammates and coaches. It’s out of my control, but I’m really happy with how I played.”


Rypien took a similar stance after he finished 8-of-11 for 86 yards, an interception and a 57.4 quarterback rating.


“I think that’s for [Fangio] to decide,” said Rypien when asked if he separated himself from Hogan. “From my standpoint, I just want to progress from that last game. I felt like I did that. I had goals coming into this game, but I’ve still got a long way to go be a guy in this league. But at the same time, I know what I need to work on, and I’ll do that for sure.”