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Drew Lock got his first fourth quarter comeback of his career as they led the Denver Broncos to a 27-17 victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 16. He is now 3-1 as a starter and the Broncos are 6-5 since starting the season 0-4.
It’s been a season of adversity, but Head Coach Vic Fangio is proud of this team and how it has battled back from those early season struggles.
“These guys have been that way all year,” Fangio said after the game. “Our record isn’t what anybody wants it to be and we’re not proud of our record, but we are proud of this team. When I say team, these guys play for each other. They’ve played hard. It’s a one for all and all for one mentality. They’ve got a brotherhood going. I love being around this team. Nobody likes our record, but this team is a good team.”
Denver has been up and down, but since the rookie quarterback was inserted into the starting lineup the team seems to be trending upwards. Part of that is Lock performing better than expected, but a bigger part has been rookie offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello growing as a playcaller in his own right.
“He’s done a good job adjusting,” Fangio said of Scangarello. “We’ve played with three quarterbacks. We’ve had some struggles in the O-line. We’ve had to adjust on how we play, how we protect and how we call a game. That doesn’t mean pulling in your horns. Just things we have had to do to help us move the ball.”
“Let’s keep fighting ’til the end!”
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 23, 2019
Inside the locker room after we #BeatTheLions pic.twitter.com/Ev3dP7mHGC
Overall, the Broncos offense is finally doing things. With a makeshift offensive line, the offense is still finding ways to get the ball moving. They scored over 25 points twice since Lock took over and they only score over 25 twice in their previous 27 games, so that is definitely saying something.
The Broncos now have a chance to finish strong with a statement win over the Oakland Raiders to avenge their Week 1 defeat to them and to steal away both second place in the AFC West and potentially knocking the Raiders out of playoff contention.
As far as 2020 NFL Draft position, who gives a shit about April... the Raiders are coming to town.