Denver Broncos: 10 biggest mistakes in the George Paton era

8. Trading for Teddy Bridgewater

This was a season to forget for the Denver Broncos, but it was their best since the 2015 Super Bowl year. Vic Fangio was still the head coach of the Denver Broncos and seemed to not trust Drew Lock after what was a very poor 2020 performance.

The rumor is that Fangio went to George Paton and asked for Teddy Bridgewater and cornerback help. Well, Paton did bring in some CB help when he added Kyle Fuller, Ronald Darby, and Patrick Surtain II, and also did make a trade for Bridgewater.

Statistically, Bridgewater was by far the best quarterback the Denver Broncos had started since Peyton Manning retired. He threw 18 touchdowns against just seven interceptions for a passer rating of 94.9. Bridgewater was efficient in the box score, but the offense lacked juice and Bridgewater continued his ways of taking low-risk throws.

The saying for Teddy Bridgewater went like this "If you need five yards, he'll give you five. If you need 10 yards, he'll give you five." Bridgewater also came under fire when he seemed to back off tackling Darius Slay on a turnover return from the Broncos. As you can probably guess, it was from a Melvin Gordon fumble.

Teddy Bridgewater is a fabulous backup. I would have loved to see him reunite with Sean Payton in Denver as the QB2, but his 2021 adventure with the Broncos was a mistake. They should have stuck it out with Drew Lock, because the 2020 season was a wash for him, or at least it should have been.