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The Denver Broncos under Vic Fangio just can’t seem to get out of their own way against the Kansas City Chiefs. In the three games against Kansas City, the Broncos have been outscored 25-93. The Broncos under Vic Fangio have fared decently against the rest of the league, scoring 373 points in 19 games and allowing 376. Below is a chart of points scored and allowed by the Broncos with Vic Fangio as Head Coach.
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The three games where the orange bar is significantly smaller than the blue bar are all games against Kansas City.
The Broncos have been getting poor QB play since Peyton Manning hurt his foot midway through the 2014 season. I have been tracking the Bronco QB passer rating by game since we won the Super Bowl. So far this year the downward trend has been troubling.
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The poor QB play has looked even worse because the rest of the league has been getting better QB play year over year. Right now there have been 368 passing TDs so far this season and 174 interceptions for a TD:INT ratio of 2.12 to 1.00. If that ratio holds that would be the best ever in NFL history.
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Of course while the rest of the league has been getting improved QB play, so has the rest of the AFC West. The Chargers, Raiders and Chiefs have combined to throw 41 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. The Broncos combined QBs have thrown 6 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
I know, I know. Drew Lock is still young and inexperienced, having only started eight NFL games, but it is sobering to think that Lock (83.2) has a lower passer rating through his first eight starts than both Brock Osweiler (87.9) and Trevor Siemian (86.2).
By passer rating in his first 8 starts, @DrewLock23 has played worse than both Brock Osweiler and Trevor Siemian, but better than Sam Darnold, Jared Goff and Josh Allen. https://t.co/PTJCMC6OSS
— Joseph Mahoney (@ndjomo76) October 26, 2020
Also of note - Lock 8x sacked in 8 starts, Daniel Jones - 32. Kyler Murray - 26.
Of course, he also has a better passer rating through his first eight starts than Sam Darnold, Jared Goff and Josh Allen.
Lock obviously can still improve, but so far he appears to have regressed relative to last season. He seems to be locking onto his first read and not go through is progressions, which has caused him to miss some wide open receivers in his starts this season. He has also started the troubling trend of fleeing a stable pocket when he is not being pressured. He also seems to have regressed in terms of throwing “off-platform” which he has the arm to do but can lead to overthrows and inaccuracy, especially in bad weather.
Poll
How confident (or not) are you at this point that Drew Lock will become our "franchise quarterback"?
This poll is closed
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10%
Very confident
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36%
Slightly confident
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33%
Slightly doubtful
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19%
Very Doubtful