Broncos Roundtable: Can Sunday’s game change Denver's decision on Drew Lock?

DENVER — The Denver Broncos’ season is setting in the Mile High City. But the verdict on if Drew Lock is the team’s starting quarterback of the future still appears up in the air.

Is there anything the second-year quarterback can or can’t do against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday that would change John Elway’s view on him moving forward?

The DNVR Broncos Crew breaks it down.

CAN SUNDAY’S GAME CHANGE DENVER’S DECISION ON DREW LOCK?

Zac

Absolutely — It’s going to be too tall of a task for Drew Lock to do enough against the Raiders to have John Elway and Vic Fangio crown him the Week 1 starter afterward. But he can harm his stock with a terrible outing on Sunday.

Lock has had at least one turnover in every game this year outside of Week 1. In the 11 other games he’s played in, Lock’s given the ball away at least once. In five of those games, he’s had multiple turnovers. If Lock has another multi-turnover performance on Sunday, it will make it more difficult for the Broncos to not at least bring in serious competition at quarterback in the offseason.

Entering the final week of the season, Lock is tied with Carson Wentz for the most interceptions in the NFL at 15. With Wentz sidelined, one more interception would give Lock sole control of that title.

A game full of turnovers from No. 3 could very well tip the scales to Elway and Co. looking for an upgrade at the most important position in sports after the season.

Mase

Probably not — And if anything, the arrow could only move in the negative direction if Lock struggles in the manner he did when the Broncos fell 37-12 at Las Vegas in Week 10.

An outstanding performance for Lock would be viewed through the prism of the Raiders’ defensive troubles in recent weeks; since Week 11, Las Vegas ranks 31st in points allowed (34.3), 28th in opponent passer rating (104.2), 29th in yards per rushing attempt allowed (4.93) and T-28th in takeways (5).

Should the Broncos make any decisions based on Sunday’s game, that would be a mistake. Besides, it’s not a game from which they can draw momentum for 2021; Fangio said as much this week.

“I’m a believer in that [a win] will make Sunday night and Monday feel a whole lot better, but I think each and every season is its own entity,” Fangio said. “Teams change as everybody knows. Teams that have great records — their roster changes. Our roster will change somewhat obviously. So, I think each and every season is its own entity.”

Week 17 isn’t the first week of the 2021 season. It’s the final week of another lost campaign. And it is a game whose result is likely to be forgotten before the Senior Bowl.

Ryan

Realistically, no — Denver has plenty of information on Drew Lock and anything that happens on Sunday realistically shouldn’t be able to sway the sample far enough one way or another to change Denver’s decision entirely.

“We’ve seen enough good things from Drew where we think there is definitely a chance for him to be a great quarterback in this league for a long time,” John Elway told KOA radio this week. “It’s going to take some time.”

This helps confirm what we have been hypothesizing for a while, Denver wants to run it back next season, get healthy and give continuity a chance. With that in mind, the question would be, would Denver change their mind if Drew Lock plays poorly?

To me, that answer is pretty clearly no.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTIONS VS RAIDERS (-1.5)

Zac

Broncos 28, Raiders 27 — Las Vegas is a completely different team than the one that blew the doors off Denver in Week 10.

Since the playoff-bound 6-3 Raiders beat the Broncos 37-12 in Week 10, they’ve completely fallen apart. The Raiders have gone 1-5 down the stretch and eliminated themselves from the playoffs thanks in large part to an inept defense.

Since holding Denver to 12 points, Las Vegas has given up an average of 34 points per game and fired their defensive coordinator. If there is ever a week for Lock and the Broncos’ young offense to find their groove, this will be the one.

The Broncos will split the season series with the Raiders and start 2021 with a dub.

Mase

Broncos 27, Raiders 20 — For draft positioning, this is a must-lose game. With a loss, the Broncos could pick as high as fifth … although in all likelihood, defeat would probably ensure they only move up a spot or two, to the No. 8 or 9 position in the first round.

Denver isn’t great, and since beating Miami one week after the Vegas debacle, the Broncos have lost four of  five games, only beating a Panthers side that has lost eight of its last 10 games. But the Raiders are worse in recent weeks. Only a last-gasp touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Henry Ruggs III against the Jets’ cover-zero look separates Las Vegas from being winless since its rout of the Broncos.

The Raiders seem to have forgotten how to win. The Broncos — if they can turn on their energy earlier than they did last week — haven’t, and that will be enough to allow them to finish at 6-10.

Ryan

Broncos 17, Raiders 15 — This will be your classic Week 17 slopfest with several key starters being held out.

It would most likely benefit the Broncos most to lose this one and secure a Top-10 draft pick, but as we’ve seen over the last four years, that doesn’t matter to the players, and usually not to the coaches, either.

The Broncos, once again, win on a last-second stop, giving everybody that sweet taste of victory that is ever-so-fleeting once the offseason begins.