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Paxton Lynch Booed by Broncos Fans When Entering Game vs. Bears
August 19, 2018
Denver Broncos fans were not pleased to see quarterback Paxton Lynch enter Saturday's 24-23 preseason loss to the Chicago Bears.
According to ESPN.com, the Denver crowd "lustily booed" Lynch when he entered the game as the third-stringer behind Case Keenum and Chad Kelly.
"I feel bad for Paxton, but our fans want to win," head coach Vance Joseph said. "That's what it's about. It's about passion, I should say. But I feel bad for Paxton. He has to ignore it and go play. It's professional football. No one is going to hold your hand, so he has to go out there and perform."
Lynch was sacked twice and finished 5-of-11 for 39 yards and zero touchdowns. The Broncos lost a 23-10 lead in the fourth quarter after he entered, and while the offense wasn't directly responsible for the Bears' two late touchdowns, Lynch didn't exactly keep the Chicago offense off the field by directing his own long drives.
"I just haven't been playing well. It's not acceptable, especially playing quarterback here. You have to play well and give [the Broncos] an opportunity to win every week," Lynch said.
The performance and boos came after Lynch finished 6-of-11 for 24 yards and zero touchdowns with one interception in the preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
He was a first-round pick out of Memphis in 2016, and it wasn't difficult to envision him serving as the next franchise quarterback after Peyton Manning retired. Instead, he has appeared in just five games in his NFL career and has four touchdown passes and four interceptions.
Lynch has looked nothing like a franchise signal-caller and now sits behind Keenum, who was undrafted, and Kelly, who was a seventh-round pick last year, on the depth chart with Broncos fans clearly unhappy with his play.