Broncos QB Drew Lock Shrugs Off Injury, Admits to Frustration

To Drew Lock, the insult of losing in Las Vegas stings worse than the injury he suffered as a result.

Speaking after Sunday’s 37-12 defeat to the Raiders, the Denver Broncos’ embattled quarterback assured reporters he’s physically “fine” but copped to emotional vexation over the blowout, which dropped Denver to 3-6 in what’s shaping up as its fifth-straight playoff-less campaign.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I'll be good. I'm definitely frustrated after a day like that,” Lock said. “There’s a lot of stuff I need to work on and a lot of stuff I can get better at. So, we just have to keep pushing and practicing.”

A continuing theme due to his makeshift offensive line, Lock was under duress from the opening snap against the Raiders, who totaled seven hits and two sacks on the second-year signal-caller. One particular blow to Lock’s midsection caused him visible discomfort throughout the game, though he did not miss a snap.

“The trainer said he had a little something but by no means did Drew or the trainer think it was anything that he couldn’t play with,” head coach Vic Fangio said. “We didn’t see him—I told the offensive coaches to closely watch him and didn’t think he was laboring at all or favoriting it."

Lock finished 23-of-47 for 257 yards, one (garbage-time) touchdown, and a whopping four interceptions. His passer rating was a paltry 37.3. His turnovers? Egregious. It was arguably the ugliest performance of Lock's young, roller coaster career; he made bad throws and worse decisions.

His most memorable miscue came at the tail end of the first half, with the Broncos threatening to take a 13-10 lead into the break. After a Lock rushing TD was nullified by penalty, the sophomore passer tossed a hopeless ball into double coverage for an easy Raiders pick.

Denver wouldn't sniff the goal line again until it was too late.

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“They gave us corners down there. They gave us a tight fit on that window to [WR] Jerry [Jeudy]. The middle backer opened up to the right, the hole player dropped a little bit but didn’t drop enough to where I thought he could be a problem on the throw," Lock said of the INT. "The safety did drive on it and made a good play on it. It was a ball you could throw to the back.”

The loss dropped Lock to 6-6 as the Broncos' starting QB and deflated much of the fan base's hopes in the 2019 second-rounder — to the point where they're pining for Brett Rypien. Their wants fell on deaf ears, however, with Fangio committing to Lock for the remainder of the year.

The 6-3 Miami Dolphins, they of the stingy defense and surprisingly potent offense, are next on the docket. This is an infinitely tougher matchup than Atlanta or Vegas, and it has the potential to get downright ugly.

Lock knows his QB-of-the-future audition hinges on the Broncos' success. Winning cures all, and an upset of Miami would deodorize the stink of his recent efforts.

His body is battered and beaten. But his confidence is not.

"Obviously, I have a very real mindset. I realize that it was not very good today and it hasn't been very good the past couple of weeks, but it doesn't get better if you dwell on it," Lock said Sunday. "You can only keep moving forward and you keep looking into next week and keep coming out and playing— just keep pushing."

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