Without Teddy Bridgewater, the Denver Broncos went to Las Vegas and held their own against the Raiders, falling 17-13. With Drew Lock leading the team at QB, the offense struggled to establish any sort of rhythm, while the defense held its own but was put in tough situations.
Even with wins against the Chargers and Chiefs to end the year, the playoff chances for the Broncos will only be at 0.9%, so the fact that they fought the entire game shows that this team still believes in head coach Vic Fangio, even if their record says otherwise.
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Broncos Week 16 Takeaways
3. Defense has found its LBs of the future
The defense for the Broncos was facing some key injuries, as five of their linebackers are either out (1) or on injured reserve (4). Forced into employing the next-man-up mantra, Denver turned to rookies Baron Browning and Jonas Griffith, and both contributed in big ways.
Griffith led the team with 13 tackles, including 2 for a loss, and Browning was second with 9 tackles. In their first years, both players stepped up in their first major game action of the year and delivered, even though Josh Jacobs was able to run for 129 yards on 27 carries.
Fangio is defensive-minded, so having developed players like Browning and Griffith as they have is no surprise but helps this defense’s outlook for the future.
2. Lack of running game focus doomed gameplan
When rolling out a backup QB, usually offenses resort to relying on their rushing attack to take some pressure off – instead, the Broncos decided to only give Melvin Gordon III and rookie Javonte Williams a combined 14 carries, putting the ball in Lock’s hands more.
As a whole this offense struggled, only producing 158 total yards across four quarters under offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s play calls.
This season, the offense’s success has been predicated on how well the rushing attack is, and by only deciding to run the ball 14 times, Shurmur produced an uneven game plan, something that couldn’t have happened if they wanted any chance of winning against the Raiders.
1. Lock will never be the solution at QB
When John Elway was the team’s general manager, addressing and improving the QB position was always an issue – when Elway decided to draft Missouri’s Drew Lock back in the second round of the 2019 draft, it was quite obvious that Elway thought very highly of a prospect that had not necessarily been seen as a franchise option.
Fast forward almost three full seasons, and Lock was given the keys to the offense and had them taken away in that time frame, showcasing how he never was going to be able to become what this team needed for its long-term solution. When Bridgewater was brought in, it was seen as a way to bridge the gap before they were to (hopefully) find their next long-term solution, seeing as how Lock had been given plenty of chances.
Sunday was essentially a dress rehearsal for Lock, who only has one more year on his rookie deal. If there is a team out there willing to ship over a mid-to-late round draft pick for Lock’s services for 2022, then feel free, but the way that Lock performed against the Raiders (15/22, 153 yards, 2 carries for 10 yards) leads nothing to the imagination in terms of what he can bring to the table.
A change of scenery can help out anyone, so that may be what Lock needs, but he certainly does not seem to be anything more than a journeyman QB early in his backup career.
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