Broncos plan to debut Joe Flacco vs. Seattle in preseason Game 2

The Denver Broncos have one preseason game under their belt, beating the Atlanta Falcons 14-10 in the Hall of Fame Game last week.

Absent from the proceedings was starting quarterback Joe Flacco. With the Broncos set play a whopping five preseason games this summer, instead of the typical four, the coaches chose to keep Flacco out of the opener and let the backup get the reps.

However, Flacco might be a 12th-year veteran, but he's also a new kid on the Mile High block. He's playing in a new city, with new coaches, a new system and new teammates.

Translation: Flacco could use the reps, too.

According to head coach Vic Fangio, the Broncos plan to give Flacco some live-bullet snaps in Thursday night's exhibition bout vs. the Seattle Seahawks.

"Joe’s going to play some," Fangio said following Monday's tumultuous practice session. "The exact rotation I don’t know yet.”

Flacco finally got to play with a complete first-team offense on Monday, as Pro Bowl wideout Emmanuel Sanders was unleashed for 11-on-11 drills. The product on the field, with Sanders in the equation, looked markedly better — at least initially.

The Broncos' offense lost its momentum on Monday due to some false-start sloppiness on the offensive line, which was followed shortly after by a fistfight between Sanders and fellow receiver Courtland Sutton.

“I don’t know all of the details of it," Fangio said in regard to what started the fight. "It kind of happened about 10 minutes before I even found out about it because I was on the other side of the field. Obviously, it’s not good. Can’t happen, shouldn’t happen, but you have to be able to react to these things and handle them the right way.”

Flacco played a role in diffusing the situation, along with offensive guard Ronald Leary. As disheartening as the tussle between the Broncos' two offensive weapons was, the good news is, the offense looked better with Sanders on the field.

We're starting to catch the offensive vision the Broncos have with Joe Flacco as the triggerman. Although it's unclear whether Sanders will play, we'll get to see the Broncos' first-team offense against outside competition on Thursday night.

Flacco's coming off a rough practice on Monday, in which he tossed two pick-sixes to Kareem Jackson. QBs are more prone to test boundaries and take risks in practice and camp, so I wouldn't read too much into Flacco's turnovers.

He needs to be better. And on Thursday night, we'll get to see if Flacco can elevate his play vs. a real NFL opponent.

In terms of the Kevin Hogan vs. Drew Lock battle for the QB2 job, Lock did receive additional reps with the second-team on Monday, especially toward the end during the 'move the ball' drill.

That competition hasn't resolved itself yet. When it comes to playing time in preseason Game 2, Fangio hasn't decided yet exactly what the rotation will be, or how the snaps will be divided, but expect Lock to be the second QB onto the field following Flacco.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.

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