Denver Broncos: Drew Lock can turn corner quickly

Drew Lock’s second half against the Los Angeles Chargers is one the Denver Broncos must build off of going forward.

The 2020 season has been a roller coaster and unfortunately stalled Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock’s consistency.

The Broncos have been derailed by numerous injuries in the season and Lock’s was one of them. Lock already was facing adversity this year without Courtland Sutton and Denver did not have Tim Patrick Sunday against Los Angeles.

In the first half, the offense had stall after stall, but a switch happened with Lock resulting in a mode Denver had not seen since December 2019. Lock went full-on Mamba Mentality against a team from LA.

Lock led a comeback against the Chargers much like Peyton Manning did back in the 2012 season. It became the fourth-biggest comeback in Broncos history.

The moment of the switch is a theory. On a 2nd and 16 play, Lock threw to Jerry Jeudy who was well covered. There was talk Jeudy said something to Lock immediately after the play. Due to the coaches’ film, we can see that Jeudy went right to referee following the play.

However, the unknown still exists. Jeudy might have said something in the huddle to Lock.

The next down was 3rd and 16. Jeudy ran a sharp post route and Lock hit him in stride resulting in 40+ yards. After that play Lock made chunk play after chunk play. This comes from Pat Shurmur’s decision to go uptempo with Lock. If Denver wants to build off their fourth quarter, it starts with Lock going uptempo against Atlanta on Sunday.

Lock is a rhythm quarterback. For Denver to best utilize its best ability, he needs to be operating an uptempo offensive attack. When Shurmur went uptempo with Lock, the quarterback focused better on mechanics, worked through his progressions, his footwork was better, and placement became excellent.

It also allows Lock to best use his mobility in the pocket. Lock has shown to excel under center, but the top trait for him is going fast paced. If Shurmur decides to do uptempo then it could result in more player motion and three wide sets. This results in every single person getting a piece of the pie.

One of Lock’s strong suits since joining Denver is spreading the wealth to every playmaker. Back in 2019, Lock raised the level of play this way. It seemed Lock’s play was a defibrillator for DaeSean Hamilton. Hamilton is one of those “Mr. Reliable” players on the offense when Denver goes uptempo becoming a true chain mover.

As evidenced last Sunday, Lock went 14-of-18 with 155 passing yards and three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the fourth quarter. Yes, in the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter is one Denver must build off of for their young weapons on offense. It starts first with going uptempo. Confidence for Lock will become higher if the Denver Broncos decide to make it a priority.

Also as stated above, concentration is better for Lock when he is uptempo. The “Mamba Mentality” of that fourth quarter might be the turning point for Lock and his play going forward. In my opinion, I would expect this to continue.

It is too premature to think the impact of this comeback will be the same as Peyton Manning’s comeback against the Chargers in 2012. After that game, Denver consistently put games together placing them in contention for a Super Bowl.

That Chargers game might have been not just a quarterback and offensive coordinator switch, but an entire team switch that pushes this young team on offense to infinity and beyond.