Broncos Set Table for 'Big Game' from Drew Lock After Week 12 Nightmare

Drew Lock's bulletin board (if he owns a bulletin board) should be filled top-to-bottom with material, underlined in red marker, as the second-year quarterback heads into his third-career matchup with the Denver Broncos' biggest rival, his hometown Kansas City Chiefs.

"Lock displayed a lack of leadership last week!"

"He's the reason the Broncos had no available QB against the Saints!"

"He can't beat the Chiefs!"

"He's about to get embarrassed on national television!"

"The Broncos are a joke, and he's the punchline!"

Et cetera.

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After being forced to sit out last Sunday's travesty against New Orleans due to an apparent violation of the COVID-19 protocol policy, Lock returns to the starting lineup for a game in which Denver is 13.5-point road underdogs, given zero chance of winning.

A game that head coach Vic Fangio is treating like any other for the young signal-caller.

“Every game is a big game and really it wouldn't matter who we're playing this week," Fangio told reporters Thursday. "It's the next game and for Drew it's a big game for him personally and for this team. Just like the following week, just like the previous 11 were. It's a big game.”

But it's not any other opponent — it's the 10-1, division-leading, Patrick Mahomes-wielding Chiefs on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead Stadium. A foe that forced Lock into a two-interception, one-pick-six, zero-touchdown meltdown amid Kansas City's 43-16 blowout on Oct. 25.

"We just turned the ball over. That was it, plain and simple," Lock said Wednesday. "I threw the pick six. We turned the ball over earlier in that game too. If we just keep the ball in our hands and take what they give us, I think we can have a better outing this time to make the difference in the scoreboard. Our biggest focus is taking care of the ball this week and like I said, doing our job one play at a time.”

If that isn't motivation enough, Lock is entering a five-week stretch to prove he's The Guy for the Broncos while attempting to shed the basement-dwelling reputation that precedes the organization, a sobering reality which came to light during the NFL's double-standard handling of its COVID crisis. (The Baltimore Ravens had their game rescheduled three times to accommodate an outbreak yet Denver couldn't so much as field a QB, three of whom tested negative for the virus.)

Lock defended himself through the media regarding his decision to lead a last-minute film session that sparked the unprecedented ruling.

Now he must defend himself on the field.

“I think he was eager to get going again," offensive coordinator Pat Shumur said of Lock on Thursday. "I think it was a tough situation for all those guys being deemed out. Unfortunately, what they were doing—they didn't keep the protocols in mind. They were working on a Tuesday like they would normally do and I'm proud of them for that, but there's protocols that we have to follow and there were rules that were broken. I think he's glad to be back out there. I think so far he's had a good week of preparation and I think he'll just look forward to playing. I don't know about that whole 'putting too much pressure on himself' thing. I think he's just got to do his job.”

Scoring a massive upset isn't the only way Lock can show he and the Broncos belong, that they deserve the preferential treatment given to others, that they need to be taken seriously and not written off.

Make the Chiefs earn a victory. Make Mahomes outduel his counterpart. Make the haters and detractors search desperately for ammunition.

This is the Broncos' Super Bowl, and — win or lose — Lock should play like it.

Follow Zack on Twitter @KelbermanNFL and @MileHighHuddle