Fangio Shares his Evaluation of QB Drew Lock's Victorious First Start

Drew Lock didn't blow the doors down in his NFL debut, but he did throw a couple of touchdowns and most importantly, led the Denver Broncos to only their fourth win of the season.

After the Broncos defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 23-30, head coach Vic Fangio shared his evaluation on Lock's performance on Sunday.

“I think he did fine," Fangio said from the podium. "Obviously, what you saw out there—the throwing and the pass offense is what you’re mainly looking at. I think he handled himself well during the game—calling plays in the huddle, not looking like the situation was too big for him. [I] didn’t think he was nervous so that part was just as good. He should keep improving.”

Fangio acknowledging that the moment didn't appear "too big" for Lock is worth highlighting, not only because of its palpable veracity but because the first-year head coach is very careful, perhaps even stingy, in the praise he doles out to players. Lock went 18-for-28 for 134 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, finishing with a QB rating of 84.5.

It was solid if unspectacular but at the same time, Lock executed his share of the responsibility within the game-plan Fangio and OC Rich Scangarello drew up. After the Broncos got out to an early two-score lead, the coaches proceeded to call an extremely conservative game on both sides of the ball.

The Broncos offense became the epitome of predictable, especially in the second half, which at least didn't break from the tradition Scangarello built up in the previous 11 games. First down, run. Second down, run. Third down, pass.

The Broncos only ended up converting 7-of-15 third-down tries and finished with just 13 first downs. But one thing Lock was able to accomplish that his predecessors — Joe Flacco and Brandon Allen — struggled to do, was capitalize on turnovers.

The Broncos scored 10 points off turnovers vs. the Chargers, which matched the total of the previous 11 games combined. Surely that was an encouraging step forward for this offense with Lock at the helm?

“I think it was a good start for him," Fangio said. "Did we light up the scoreboard? No. Did we get a ton of first downs? No... We got some short fields which helped us get some points, but I think there’s promise there. I really do. I’m just not ready to put him in Canton yet."

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Fangio was careful with his words and conservative with his praise while acknowledging Lock's impact on the Broncos' victory. It's true — fans shouldn't get too far out over their skis as it relates to Lock. But this fanbase has been starved of the type of dynamic ability Lock displayed in the rawest of forms in his NFL debut.

"I think it was a great start for him, something that he can build upon because obviously we didn’t light up the scoreboard or have a ton of yards and first downs, but I think in many ways it’s probably a good way for him to start in lieu of the fact that we got the win," Fangio said. "But there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

No doubt, Lock would concur. Was it enough to guarantee Lock as the starter heading into next week's road trip to take on the Houston Texans? The answer is 'yes', though Fangio stopped short of anointing Lock the starter for the remainder of the season.

"There was no long-term plan other than if he did fine, he would stay in there," Fangio said. "I’m telling you now he’s starting next week. You don’t have to wait until Saturday.”

Thanks, Coach. At least this week, we in the media won't have to interpret the smoke signals of Fangio's "silly games".

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.

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