Denver Broncos: Teddy Bridgewater nearly perfect vs. Seahawks
The Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback battle plods on, and Teddy Bridgewater made his case with a near-perfect outing against the Seahawks.
The Denver Broncos‘ quarterback position battle has not yet been decided, but Teddy Bridgewater has continued his strong case to be QB1 for the 2021 season. Against the Seattle Seahawks, Bridgewater got two series to get work in with the top offense, and he was just about flawless.
Bridgewater completed 9-of-11 passes for 105 yards with a touchdown, no interceptions, and two-for-two on his drives ending in scores.
There were a number of fourth-down conversions among Bridgewater’s two possessions, only one of which was necessary based on something Bridgewater did. In fact, the only really negative play among Bridgewater’s work in this one was what appeared to be a miscommunication with KJ Hamler on the first drive of the game.
The possession would have otherwise ended after three plays but the Broncos, in Seahawks territory, went for a 4th-and-5 that I think Vic Fangio would have also gone for in a regular season game, not just to get his QB more reps.
It turned out to be a great decision either way because on the 4th-and-5, the Broncos got into the red zone on a huge catch and run from Jerry Jeudy after Teddy Bridgewater climbed the pocket, stayed patient, and waited for a deeper route over the middle of the field to develop.
https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1429269191761088512
After this big play to Jeudy, Bridgewater was able to find KJ Hamler just a couple of plays later, this time on a very good example of communication between the two.
Easy money in the red zone.
https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1429268124646338564
That’s two touchdowns for KJ Hamler in consecutive weeks, each one very different in terms of showcasing Hamler’s skill set.
On Bridgewater’s second drive, another fourth-down conversion was necessary after a dropped pass by rookie running back Javonte Williams. The rookie picked up the first down on the very next play on the ground, and thank goodness he did.
Otherwise, this gem may not have happened.
Arguably Teddy Bridgewater’s best throw of the night, an absolute dime to Eric Saubert to get into the red zone where the Denver Broncos would again convert for six points.
So far in the preseason, Teddy Bridgewater has been exceptional, leading the offense to four scoring drives out of four opportunities with the ball.
He has completed 16-of-19 pass attempts for 179 yards and two touchdowns and has shown the ability to push the ball downfield, although there’s no question he hasn’t pushed the ball downfield quite like Drew Lock did to KJ Hamler against the Minnesota Vikings.
Bridgewater has been as-advertised through two preseason appearances and is in a great position to potentially be named the starting QB as soon as this week.
As this post is being written Drew Lock has yet to really get a chance, being sacked twice almost immediately to open his first series which resulted in a punt.
Bridgewater, in this game at least, was nearly perfect.