ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As Denver Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch stayed a few moments after practice Thursday to work through a few items on his to-do list with interim offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, it was clear the Broncos are giving Lynch plenty of cram sessions to try to get the second-year quarterback ready for his third career start.

Against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, Lynch will become the third quarterback to start a game for Denver this season. The Broncos, who sit at 3-7 and have already played Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler behind center this year, have decided it’s time to see what Lynch can -- or cannot -- do in game situations.

Lynch, who started two games as a rookie in 2016 for an injured Siemian and then lost a training camp battle with Siemian for the starting job in training camp this past summer, missed two months’ worth of practices after injuring his right shoulder in an Aug. 26 preseason game against the Green Bay Packers.

“Practice is a controlled environment, so for a young guy to get better at playing quarterback, he had to play in real games where things are not controlled for him," head coach Vance Joseph said after the Broncos' Thanksgiving practice. “And he has to make his reads, and he has to overcome adversity."

Those sentiments echoed what Musgrave said Wednesday after Lynch’s first on-field day of preparation for his first game action of the season. Musgrave was also asked what Lynch’s best attributes are at this stage of his development as he prepares for Sunday's start.

“He’s definitely tall, so he can see the field, he can throw the ball all over the field with his strength," Musgrave said. “He just needs time on task. This will be good. This will be another step in his development of getting him on the field so he can get more time on task. You’re only going to learn from experience. You don’t learn from the sideline. This will be important for him.”

Given he’s lost back-to-back training camp competitions for the starting job (with two different coaching staffs), Lynch was asked this week if he felt like this was a last chance of sorts to prove himself. In his three games, Lynch has completed 59 percent of his passes with two touchdowns to go with one interception and has been sacked nine times.

“I don’t take it as a last chance, but I take it as an opportunity to go out there and show that you can be the guy," Lynch said. “They called my number, and I’ve been preparing this whole time, whether it was out here on the practice field or in the training room when I couldn’t come out here. I’m confident in where I am and what we can do this weekend."

There are certain parts of the growing pains that are expected with Lynch in an offense that just changed offensive coordinators Monday, even as he faces Raiders defense that is near the bottom of the league rankings in several major defensive categories. The Raiders are 26th in total defense, 27th in pass defense and tied for last in sacks.

While that would seem to offer some optimism Lynch could have some early success against the Raiders, the Broncos want to see how he bounces back from mistakes and difficult situations in game conditions. Lynch often clustered mistakes in practice, especially in training camp, when one miscue would lead to another.

Asked Thursday if a player could show coaches how he will respond to adversity in practice only, Joseph said performance in games is a true indicator.

“Because you never know how the game’s going to look," Joseph said. “And that’s every young guy playing, from defensive back to offensive tackle to quarterback. You don’t know … how they handle adversity, how they bounce back, what their football I.Q. is like on game day."