The preseason finale highlighted the Broncos flawed QB thinking
Aug 30, 2021, 11:28 AM
Saturday night was a microcosm of why the Broncos picked Teddy Bridgewater to be their starting quarterback. It provided perfect examples of what went into their decision.
Vic Fangio’s process was all about mitigating damage. That’s all Denver’s head coach seems to care about.
In the preseason finale against the Rams, Bridgewater struggled early. After two drives, he was 1-for-6 passing, for a grand total of four yards. Yep, those numbers are correct.
But the Broncos had three points on the scoreboard. And the offense hadn’t put the defense in a bad position.
Bridgewater rode Melvin Gordon to a field goal on the first drive. Despite missing on all four of his throws, the quarterback “guided” an eight-play, 26-yard scoring march that was completely set up by Denver’s ground game.
On his second possession of the night, Bridgewater went three-and-out. But the Broncos punted from their own 27-yard line, flipping the field and putting the Rams back at their own 22.
That’s a win in Fangio’s mind. Any drive that ends in a kick – extra point, field goal or punt – is a good offensive possession.
On that front, Bridgewater was good on Saturday night. Even when he was struggling early, he didn’t turn the ball over, he didn’t take a sack and he avoided catastrophic mistakes.
Contrast that to Drew Lock’s performance. In the game, Lock certainly showed flashes of brilliance. He made throws that were tantalizing.
But he also had a major blunder.
With 41 seconds to play in the first half, the Broncos had the ball at their own 24 yard line. Looking to put together a late drive, Lock was looking to throw. As has been his tendency, however, the quarterback held the ball too long and took a sack. To make matters worse, he fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Rams.
The mistake directly led to points for the Rams. Four plays later, they kicked a field goal to cut the score to 10-9 heading into halftime.
That’s the kind of error that the Broncos are looking to avoid. It’s exactly why he isn’t the starter in Week 1.
But the Broncos are looking at it the wrong way. That moment doesn’t serve as a reminder of why Lock shouldn’t play. Instead, it provides an example of why Denver can take the chance on their high-risk, high-reward QB.
After getting the ball at the Broncos 18 yard line with :34 on the clock, the Rams only mustered six yards of offense. Denver’s defense was able to mitigate the damage.
And that’s the point.
Fangio is a defensive-minded coach. He has the most-expensive defense in the league. They are well-equipped to withstand a few bad breaks or two. They can hold down the fort if and when Lock makes a mistake.
It’s a plus/minus equation. Yes, there will be some negatives that will cost the Broncos points. But Lock’s superior ability will allow Denver’s offense to score more points than they will with Bridgewater behind center. It’s the difference between trying to win 24-20 instead of 17-13.
The upside outweighs the downside, but not in Fangio’s mind. He’s perfectly content with low-risk, low-reward.
So while the game on Saturday night might’ve been depressing to Broncos fans, it was just fine to the team’s head coach. That’s why Teddy Bridgewater is Denver’s starting quarterback instead of Drew Lock.
