Teddy Bridgewater wins duel with Drew Lock to earn Denver Broncos' starting QB job
The quarterback competition in the Mile High City has come to a conclusion.
The Denver Broncos named Teddy Bridgewater their starting QB for Week 1 on Wednesday, ending the 28-year-old's battle with last year's starter, Drew Lock.
A second-round pick in 2019, the 24-year-old Lock started 13 games for the Broncos last season, going 4-9 as Denver finished 5-11 overall.
In 13 games of work, Lock completed 57.3% of his passes for 2,933 yards, 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Bridgewater has a much more extensive résumé, having been in the league since 2014. In his stints with the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, he has amassed a 26-23 record in 49 starts.
In 15 starts for the Panthers last season, Bridgewater went 4-11, completing 69.1% of his passes for 3,733 yards, 15 TDs and 11 picks.
After the Panthers traded for Sam Darnold from the New York Jets this offseason, the Broncos picked up Bridgewater for a 2021 sixth-round pick, setting the stage for Denver's preseason QB competition.
Throughout the preseason until Tuesday, head coach Vic Fangio said the battle was "pretty damn close," via Pro Football Talk.
In their two games of preseason work, both quarterbacks played exceptionally well.
Bridgewater completed a combined 16 of 19 pass attempts for 179 yards and two touchdowns, with a passer rating of 141.0. Lock went 14-for-21 for 231 yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating of 135.2, putting both players in the top five among all preseason QBs in passer rating.
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In his news conference Wednesday, Fangio said that deciding between the two QBs was a tough choice and that he didn't think anybody — in this case, Lock — "lost the job."
Fangio also illustrated how he informed the team of the decision to name Bridgewater the starter.
"Like I told the team today: When you have a quarterback competition, there's one of three things that can happen," Fangio said.
"One guy plays way better than the other guy, and the decision's easy, and everybody sees it. The other thing is both guys play below par, and you're not happy, but you've got to make a choice. That didn't happen either. Third is they both play good, and you have to make a tough choice, and we had to make a tough choice because we feel we can win with both of them."
However, despite Fangio's insisting that it was a tough call, Colin Cowherd of "The Herd" said he believes it was a straightforward choice because Bridgewater plays with more urgency.
"I've said this about Drew Lock: There's a Jay Cutler thing here," Cowherd said.
"That's my comp. … Jay Cutler and Drew Lock are both the same thing. Really good athletes. Fantastic, plus arm strength. … So it's not a talent thing for Drew. … The great franchise quarterbacks play with urgency. They understand that one mistake — fumble, interception — is the game. … He's just too casual."
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Watch to see why Colin Cowherd thinks the Broncos are making the right choice picking Teddy Bridgewater over Drew Lock.
The good news for Lock is Fangio indicated that if Bridgewater doesn't pass muster, the decision could be revisited.
"We're hoping that Teddy can be the guy [for the season] because we're playing good and winning," he said.
Should Bridgewater encounter some early stumbles, perhaps Lock will get another shot at the job. For now, though, he'll have to bide his time as the backup.
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