Denver Broncos: Paxton Lynch shines for Seahawks, more reactions

Evaluating Drew Lock’s performance

The Broncos brought Kevin Hogan in for no. 2 quarterback duties, but his time on the field was short-lived as they gave Drew Lock the most reps of all the quarterbacks in this game.

As a matter of fact, Brett Rypien didn’t play at all.

There was plenty of good and plenty of bad from Lock in this game. He ended up completing 17-of-28 passes for 180 yards, one touchdown, one interception, a two-point conversion throw, and three sacks.

The Good

The first really great play from Drew Lock of the preseason came on a third down play when he hit tight end Troy Fumagalli on an out route. Fumagalli wasn’t looking at Lock nor was he looking for the ball, but the throw was so perfectly placed he literally had no choice but to catch it.

On one particular drive, Lock got into a groove and hit five consecutive passes, one that went for a nice gain of 24 yards off of play-action to Nick Williams. Lock lofted the ball perfectly over the top of the defense and hit Williams in stride for a big gain.

With some solid throws mixed in between some of his poor plays, Lock put together a nice drive near the end of the game to get the Broncos their first touchdown of the night, a drive set up by a big throw to Austin Fort (who hurt his knee on the play), another big throw down the sideline to Trinity Benson, and a swing out to Devontae Jackson for a touchdown.

After the touchdown, Lock made a tremendous throw into a tight window for a two-point conversion to Juwann Winfree.

Had his night ended there, it would have probably been a much better day stat-wise for Lock.

The Bad

The backup offensive linemen weren’t doing him any favors, essentially turning Lock’s drops into a full-on retreat away from defensive linemen, but his three sacks included a couple he probably wishes he could have back.

One sack came in the end zone for a Seattle safety, and while Khalfani Muhammad clearly missed a blitz pickup, you hate to see that kind of play happen for the rookie.

Lock made a couple of poor throws in this game, including a couple that could have been or were picked off.

He had an interception in desperation time when he tried to make a play happen on third down. He had a near-interception not long before that on just a poor decision with the ball.

As the pressure continued to bear down on Lock throughout the game, his mechanics noticeably regressed, but he settled in, settled down, and made some plays after going through a rough patch.

There was one particular play that killed a drive where Lock finally had time, a pocket, and a throwing window and he just missed River Cracraft low.

One sentence summary

Lock’s second preseason game was much better than his first, and he was able to show off his elite arm talent.

Fangio’s thoughts?

Vic Fangio said of Lock after the game:

Fangio added he thought this past week of practice and the game tonight for Lock were very good for the rookie. It’s the first time we’ve really heard overwhelmingly positive comments from the coach about Lock’s overall performance.