DENVER • The two quarterbacks battling to be the Broncos’ back-up stepped into the spotlight in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys at Empower Field at Mile High.

Russell Wilson was in uniform and threw some passes pregame but did not participate; nor did most of Denver’s offensive starters. That left Josh Johnson, who played the first half, and Brett Rypien, who handled the second half, to divide the snaps in Denver’s 17-7.

Inaccuracy and a couple of drops plagued Johnson’s first three drives, which resulted in zero points, before he led the offense to two touchdowns — a 1-yard catch from Seth Williams and a leaping, 24-yard reception by Kendall Hinton — and a 52-yard Brandon Mcmanus field goal on his final three drives. The field goal came as time expired after the Broncos started a drive at their own 10 with just over a minute left in the second quarter. Johnson hit for different receivers to get into field-goal range and finished his night with 16 completions on 23 attempts for 172 yards and a 120.2 passer rating.

Rypien completed eight of 18 passes for 113 yards, finishing with a 65.3 passer rating. Most of his attempts came in a heavy rain.

Johnson’s favorite target was Brandon Johnson, who hauled in a 40-yard pass to set up the Williams touchdown and finished the first half with four catches for 64 yards. Seth Williams also caught four balls in the first half, while Hinton added 53 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Johnson’s start lacked efficiency. The Broncos went three-and-out to open the game and then punted a second time on as many drives. A pair of incompletions saw the third drive end in a turnover on downs before things started to click.

The Broncos also went three and out on Rypien’s first drive. Denver’s second possession of the second half started on the 1, but Rypien’s 42-yard dart down the left sideline to Jalen Virgil on the first play of the drive provided some breathing room. The fourthyear quarterback hit Travis Fulgham, Darrius Shepherd and Jaquan Hardy for first downs later in the drive but a couple near interceptions in the red zone ended the drive on downs inside the Dallas 5.

Rypien’s third drive started closer to midfield after the Cowboys missed a 56yard field goal, but a series of penalties led to a punt. He hit Virgil for 30 yards on his fourth drive but failed to lead a scoring drive after he overthrew Virgil on his final pass attempt of the game. The Broncos ran out the clock on Rypien’s fifth and final drive of the night.

The two quarterbacks will have another chance to impress against outside competition when the Broncos head to Buffalo on Saturday for their second preseason game.