Film Room: Breaking Down Drew Lock's Day vs. Raiders
It has certainly been an interesting season for Denver Broncos fans. From the scorching hot start to the offensive woes essentially dooming this team in big match-ups, it has been a roller-coaster of a season.
One of the debates that has persisted among the fan base is which player should start at quarterback. Veteran Teddy Bridgewater has been efficient and effective, but the offense has sputtered too often with him on the field. Drew Lock is the more volatile, and inconsistent, player that offers flashes that Bridgewater simply can't match.
Fans of Lock finally got their wish on Sunday, as he took the field for his first start of the 2021 season. The third-year veteran finished the day completing 15-of-22 passes for 153 yards and zero touchdowns with zero interceptions as the Broncos lost 17-13 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Vic Fangio's bizarre comments on Lock's day in Vegas, combined with all the hype and negativity that has surrounded the young quarterback, what's the truth of his Week 16 performance? Join me as I break down a few of his clips and talk about why I believe the Broncos' offense struggled against a fairly mediocre defense and how much of that had to do with Lock.
Reacting to Pressure
I wrote a few articles on Lock and his ups and downs as a quarterback in the offseason. My overall conclusion was/is that he is a talented quarterback that struggles with pressure and his overall mechanics.
That said, I was particularly impressed with his reaction to pressure in this game. The Broncos' offensive line was especially leaky in this game and the Raiders were able to pressure Lock on quite a few occasions.
Lock did a great job of either moving within the pocket and resetting to a new target or escaping the pocket altogether and finding another option down the field. A couple of these throws below are high-quality moments from him that I rarely saw when watching his older film.
Lock has always been an effective thrower when on the move, but seeing him do this with pressure in his face was a very welcome surprise.
Throw of the Day
Lock's best throw of the game came late in the fourth quarter on a pivotal 4th-&-short. The Broncos are trying to have Lock hit a quick-out route by Jerry Jeudy at the top of the screen (which was available if Lock wanted it).
Instead, Lock peels off of that option and finds Courtland Sutton over the middle. Without setting his feet (which is not recommended but he made it work), he throws a layered pass over the middle for the conversion.
Did he make this throw a bit more difficult than he had to? Yes, but it was still an impressive throw that moved the sticks on fourth down.
Still Forced a Few
Lock is what a lot of people would call a hero-ball quarterback. He tends to force the issue a bit, even when there is simply no need to. While that was at a very minimum in this game, he did have a couple moments where he threw the ball deep unnecessarily.
The one pass that stood out to me was this deep shot to a tight end. Lock actually had some time in the pocket on this play, for once, and could have easily slid up and found another option.
I will say that this being the worst pass of the day for Lock is a win in my book. Should he have forced this one?
No, but we have seen much lower points for the young quarterback. He did a good job of limiting his mistakes and keeping the poor decisions to a minimum in this game.
The Real Issue
I'm using this play to describe my thoughts, but the game plan just didn't set the offense up for success. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur called this game like he was a coach scared of his quarterback.
Lock was playing well, but so many of the third-down and fourth-down decisions were cowardly play-calls. Any third down that was longer than eight yards was an underneath or screen call.
The team also elected for a 50-plus-yard field goal on 4th-&-3 in the fourth quarter rather than trusting the offense to get those short yards.
The game plan should have opened up once the Raiders stopped the Broncos' run game, but it just didn't. This is a poor, late throw from Lock on third down, but running these underneath routes as the primary options on 3rd-&-8 is the root of the problem.
Lock had a fine game, but the game plan didn't allow for the offense to find success in this one.
Bottom Line
This piece is not arguing that Lock is a good NFL quarterback or that he should have been the starter all year. In regards to this last game, however, he played well enough for the Broncos to get the win. The game plan just didn't allow him or the team to find success.
Something obviously has to change with the Broncos' coaching staff this offseason for any quarterback to have success with this offense. Lock played winning football for the most part on Sunday and I was mostly impressed with his play.
Will a new offensive staff finally help 'unlock' him in the future? We will have to see what the Broncos do in that regard before getting our hopes up.
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