Fangio: Drew Lock 'threw it pretty damn good' in preseason Game 2 vs. Seattle

In the second NFL game of his young career, Drew Lock showed his head coach exactly what he hoped to see; progress.

On Thursday night vs. the Seattle Seahawks, the Denver Broncos’ rookie signal-caller showed vast improvement over his debut the week before. Lock operated with poise, moving the Broncos offense on two separate scoring drives.

And the kid threw some dimes out there at CenturyLink Field.

Head coach Vic Fangio, who up until this point has been very reluctant to praise Lock, didn’t hold back in his analysis of the rookie’s performance.

“He threw it pretty damn good,” Fangio said from the podium following Denver’s 22-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. “He seemed to be a little more in control of the operation.”

Lock operated with confidence, despite being under almost constant pressure from the Seahawks. He took a few shots but got up and kept his head high.

“Then as the game got out of hand, we were poor on defense in the second half,” Fangio elaborated. “We had a couple of three and outs there and it goes from 6 to 3 and then they had the safety. So it got out of hand quick there, the three phases didn’t play good enough and then it turns into a obvious pass situation.”

No doubt, Lock received little help from his defense and O-line. Late in the game, after he had closed Seattle’s lead from 16 points to eight, he even had a chance to helm what could have been a game-tying drive with under five minutes to go.

That drive ended on an ill-advised interception, but in fairness to Lock, he was hit as he released the ball. In a perfect world, Lock would recognize the blitzing defensive back and get rid of the rock sooner.

But this is how young quarterbacks learn. Trial and error.

Lock finished the night 17-of-28 for 180 yards, with one touchdown, one interception and one converted two-point attempt, which was a phenomenal throw wherein he threaded the needle to fellow rookie WR Juwann Winfree. Lock emerged from Game 2 with a QB rating of 76.5 and a lot more confidence about his wherewithal to play in the NFL, no doubt.

Unlike the preseason opener, the speed of the game didn’t seem too fast for Lock. He played more within himself and showcased that Howitzer hanging off his right shoulder.

He’s still showing some bad habits with inconsistent footwork but his throwing base and technique were vastly improved over Game 1. You could tell Lock was more in his element and in a different headspace than the week before.

“Yeah, it felt extremely different,” Lock said after the game Thursday night. “Just dipped my toe in the water that first game. Being able to come out here and kind of get a rhythm, it looked different on my half watching the film. I feel like I can almost watch it like a full game. Maybe a couple drives were choppy, it felt a lot, a lot different compared.”

Down by 16 points in the fourth quarter, Lock was staring at a true wall of an obstacle. But he closed the gap halfway and had the opportunity to tie it late. That’s all a QB can ask for. Lock clearly came out of Seattle with his confidence on cloud nine.

“I thought he was okay, obviously he can be better,” Fangio said in regard to how Lock played down by two scores in the fourth quarter. “I thought he has made progress this week and in practice and in the game. I think it showed at times out there. It is still a process for him. I don’t know how long it is going to take. But I think that this past week and game were great for him. He needs to learn from everything and not consider plays failures, they are learning experience not failures.”

Well said, coach.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.