Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton said some of the decisions regarding his starters are "easy" and have already been made, but the quarterback battle will continue for at least another week. Veteran Jarrett Stidham started the preseason opener at Indianapolis, but his two possessions were thwarted by a turnover and a penalty. First-round pick Bo Nix then entered the game and impressed while completing 15 of 21 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Nix is slated to start against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, two days after the teams take part in a joint practice. Both will be critical tests in the eyes of Payton, who was impressed by Nix's debut. "His decision making was good (against the Colts)," Payton said.
"I felt he was comfortable in the pocket. I thought his locations were good. The No.
1 thing to do at quarterback is lead your team and we scored. "There's two plays where I think he can set his feet. He's kind of backing up a little and we can clean that up, but I liked the production with his group while he was in there.
Ultimately, that's their job." It appears to be a two-man race, although Payton also complimented Zach Wilson, who completed 10 of 13 passes for 117 yards in mop-up duty. "The whole group as a whole -- and I'm talking the three of them -- we didn't have any sacks.
There were a lot of positives," Payton said. While Nix will start on Sunday, the Packers are expected to rest most of their starters. That makes the practice Friday equally as important in .