Sanchez: 'I squandered a great opportunity' to lock up starting job

A disappointing performance in Saturday's loss to the San Francisco 49ers has Mark Sanchez reeling about his missed opportunity.

The veteran quarterback, who landed with the Broncos in an offseason trade from the Philadelphia Eagles, entered training camp as the heavy favorite to come away with the starting job.

However, after going just 10-of-17 for 120 yards with two costly fumbles in the second preseason game, he knows he may have wasted a chance to solidify his spot atop the depth chart.

"I squandered a great opportunity to separate myself and put the team in a bad situation," Sanchez said after the game, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN. "No excuse for that, poor, poor quarterback play.

"I can't put pressure on the O-line like that. I know I'm in a tough spot right there, and coach wants to see what I do. There's no excuse for that. You can't do that. ... Poor play. I just let one go tonight. That's really too bad."

Working in Sanchez's favor is the fact that Trevor Siemian's early promise with the first-team unit will be overshadowed by an ugly pick-6.

The 29-year-old remains confident he's a starting-caliber NFL player, and he'll have an opportunity to prove as much in the all-important third preseason game next week.

But for the time being, the costly turnovers will sting.

"I know I can play this game, and I know I'm better than I showed (Saturday). ... Two really bad plays that took away from a great performance and potentially winning a job, so that's really too bad," Sanchez said.