Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
- 2,455
- 0
DENVER — They called for his head at halftime.
As Drew Lock and the Broncos fell behind 14-3 to the two-win Los Angeles Chargers, media members and fans alike openly wondered whether the Broncos' second-year quarterback should be benched in favor of Brett Rypien.
Premature? Clearly, but the results were anything but pleasant.
The Broncos posted just three points in the first half, a field goal that was made possible only because of a Justin Simmons interception and ensuing return. Otherwise, the Broncos were stagnant whenever they possessed the ball. They punted on five of their six first-half possessions, excluding a kneel down to end the first half, and mustered just two first downs.
Denver's rushing attack didn't help Lock much, as Phillip Lindsay and Melvin Gordon III combined for 3 yards on six carries in the opening half.
Lock, though, finished the first half just 9-of-15 for 58 yards, a sack and a 68.2 quarterback rating. On several third downs he threw far short of the first-down marker, and the Broncos' offense failed to find any momentum.
Herbert, meanwhile, rebounded from an interception on the team's first drive to throw two touchdowns to close the first half.
"Watching Justin Herbert & Drew Lock on the same field today — can't give John Elway much confidence going forward," Colin Cowherd tweeted.
The take didn't age well, as the kids would say.
After falling behind 24-3, Lock rebounded with a near-perfect fourth quarter as he completed 14-of-18 passes for 155 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks and a 142.1 quarterback rating. The three touchdown passes tied a career high, which he set in his second start against the Houston Texans.
Sunday's turnaround began at halftime, even if it took another few drives for Lock to find his stride.
"The mindset that I started taking after the Chiefs game was that I need to be so good at my job that I make others around me look better and not worry about everything else that's going on around me," Lock said after the comeback win. "Worry about my job, worry about what it is I need to do, and I think that will help this team be great. I was worried about my job. I wasn't doing the best job — so obviously I was a little bit pissed off. I always get mad at myself; there will never besomeone that makes me more mad than me being mad at myself. It will always be that way. But I came in the locker room and when I gave that talk [to the team], it all kind of just flushed out of me. … Like a therapy session, I vocalized it, I said it, and it's good to go now.' It's been fun to keep this team together, and we've got to keep doing it. We've got a good team that's firing off right now coming up next week, so, we'll just keep getting better."