Drew Lock Named FedEx Air Player of the Week after 4-TD Game vs. Panthers

Drew Lock assuaged many concerns within the zeitgeist of Broncos Country with his powerhouse performance vs. the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Lock completed nearly 78% of his passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns, finishing with a QB rating of 149.5.

That QB rating was the third-highest in Denver Broncos' history, behind only Peyton Manning and John Elway, respectively. Many Broncos fans exhaled as the Panthers were vanquished 32-27.

For his efforts, Lock was named FedEx Air Player of the Week. Lock edged out Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and Chicago's Mitchell Trubisky, earning 51% of the vote. The last Broncos' QB to earn FedEx Air honors was Trevor Siemian in 2017.

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After all the ups and downs the Broncos have navigated this year, it was just what the doctor ordered. The team brass were looking for a definitive performance from Lock that would scream beyond a reasonable doubt that the Broncos were onto something with the second-year signal-caller.

Lock's performance might not be definitive in the sense of proving absolutely that he is the Broncos' future franchise quarterback but it was enough to mollify any short-term concerns and instil a sense of confidence in the front office and coaching staff that the team is on the right track.

Arguably, what Lock needs more than anything is time on task and coaching/schematic continuity. Such were the talking points out of Dove Valley on Wednesday.

“Yeah, there's no doubt about it that continuity, especially as it relates to a quarterback, can have [a] tremendous positive effect," head coach Vic Fangio said. "You see it all around the league with a lot of the successful quarterbacks both young and older... You just see it time and time again where the continuity ends up paying off and players develop better—particularly the quarterback—and hopefully we'll be able to get that done with Drew here.”

There are countless examples of coaching continuity, and a small measure of patience, paying dividends for teams with regard to player development. Left tackle Garett Bolles is a homegrown example of it paying off, though it's not an apples-to-apples comparison because Lock is a quarterback.

Buffalo's Josh Allen, whom the Broncos will face this week, is another example of a young quarterback opening his career with a disjointed body of work, punctuated with flashes of brilliance here and there. Allen has developed into one of the NFL's best young quarterbacks in his third year.

There are, of course, countless examples of quarterbacks who started off with similar stats to Allen and Lock who went on to bust and flame out of the NFL. But each QB situation is unique to the time, place, coaching staff, system, and supporting cast he inherited but at this stage, fans should ask themselves the same question the Broncos' brass are.

Have there been enough flashes from Lock, enough displays of brilliance, to justify a more expanded opportunity? Internally, the answer seems to be 'yes'.

But to guarantee such a dispensation from GM John Elway and Fangio, Lock will have to close out these final three games on the same trajectory as his last three starts.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.