How Drew Lock's Resilience vs. Lions Hints at Future in Denver
Resilience is a crucial attribute for any successful NFL quarterback. In the micro sense, a quarterback can't let a first-quarter interception torpedo his entire performance on the day.
In the macro, signal-callers can't let one bad game, or one loss, tank his performance the following week. In Week 16, with the Detroit Lions jumping out to an early 10-point lead over the Denver Broncos, Drew Lock showed just what sort of mettle he's made of.
Lock battled back to tie the game going into halftime but after the Lions regained the lead midway through the third quarter, Lock's wherewithal was put to the test again. The Broncos would go onto retake the lead and put away the Lions, emerging victorious 27-17.
With Lock at the helm, the Broncos scored on five consecutive drives, starting in the second quarter, including 14 points scored in the final period. Only twice have the Broncos exceeded 24 points in a single game this season and both times were with Lock under center.
The rookie second-rounder finished Week 16 completing 75.7% of his passes with 192 yards and a touchdown. It was Lock's first 'clean game' of his career. He walked that razor's edge of protecting the ball while also being fearless in his willingness to challenge the defense vertically.
Lock faced some real adversity this week. Not only did he come down with a nasty cold himself but so did some of his offensive linemen leading up to the game.
Lock was able to overcome the loss of Elijah Wilkinson at right tackle, and later left guard Dalton Risner, to say nothing of a backup playing the entire game at right guard. It was shaky early on, but the big boys upfront eventually galvanized around their rookie quarterback and we saw arguably one of the Broncos' best right tackle performances of the season when Jake Rodgers replaced Wilkinson at the top of the second quarter.
Lock was not sacked on the day, and the Broncos were able to rush for 150 yards on the day, which is a testament to that O-line overcoming their own fair share adversity. Lock fancies himself a gunslinger but the best quarterbacks in the NFL are also high-level game managers.
Lock distributed the ball to nine different receivers on the day, overcame two separate deficits and protected the football, all while leading the Broncos to their second-highest scoring output of the season. He showed resilience at both the micro and macro level in Week 16's victory.
What does it mean for his future in Denver?
The kid is now 3-1 as a starter with one more game to go. The Broncos' front office at this point has to be giddy at the realization of what they've finally uncovered under center. Through a quarter of the season. Lock has proven to be that tide that raises all ships.
The Broncos are a team that has found its quarterback and heading into 2020 with north of $70 million in cap space and as many as 12 draft picks, they can complete the process of building the nest around Lock. The future has never been brighter for the post-Super Bowl 50 Broncos.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
