It was midway through the third quarter Sunday and the Broncos had as much life as the contents of Charlie Brown’s Halloween sack.
The 5,231 fans on hand booed with such fervor that the Broncos couldn’t be blamed for not missing the other 70,000-plus who would have been there if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.
At that moment, the game wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Chargers led 24-3. The underlying data was far worse:
- First downs: Chargers 21, Broncos 2
- Total yardage: Chargers 375, Broncos 55
- Yards per play: Chargers 6.5, Broncos 2.0
Discontent reigned in Broncos Country. Social media boiled. Fans looked at teams with other young quarterbacks and saw them enjoying the sweet taste of success. Even the historically slipshod Chargers had found their guy, and first-round rookie Justin Herbert had overcome an early interception to dice the Broncos into submission. He already had three touchdown passes, something he seems to do every week.
The Chargers dove into their candy.
At that moment, it seemed like the Broncos had a rock.
But from lifelessness came an explosion — first with Phillip Lindsay galloping off the left side and through the Los Angeles defense for a 55-yard touchdown, then with Bryce Callahan reading a slight Herbert underthrow to Mike Williams and intercepting it in the end zone.
Lock wasn’t quite out of the funk; two plays before Callahan’s interception, he threw his fifth pick of the season. But Lindsay’s run provided an electroshock to restart the Broncos, and eventually, Lock would ride the lightning.
Lock got settled, and began locating receivers downfield and between the numbers, starting with Jerry Jeudy for a 43-yard catch-and-run on third-and-16 two plays into the fourth quarter.
The rocks became Pop Rocks. Denver’s offense fired at will; in the final quarter, the Broncos averaged 8.9 yards per play and sprinted down the field for three drives of 75 or more yards, capped by the game-winning march in the final seconds. Lock dropped back to pass 18 times in the fourth quarter and was hit just once. With time and a clean pocket, he spread the football to seven different receiving targets on those three touchdown sprints.
Broncos 31, Chargers 30.
It was the Broncos’ largest comeback since rallying from a 24-0 deficit in 2012 against .. the Chargers.
The four-touchdown outburst in the second half gave them as many trips to the end zone as they had in just over 16 previous quarters with Lock at quarterback, a frustrating stretch dating back to the second half of last year’s season finale against the Raiders.
What happened Sunday hasn’t been typical for the Broncos. It is for the Chargers.
In four of Herbert’s first five starts, they coughed up a lead of at least 10 points after halftime. Three of them ended in defeat. They also tied a league record by absorbing their third loss in a single season when leading by 10 or more points at halftime.
By the time Lock and the Broncos started shredding the Chargers on Sunday, Joey Bosa was out with a concussion, joining Derwin James and Chris Harris Jr. on an injury list more star-studded than even the one boasted by the Broncos.
Yes, this was a fun win.
But it’s also unwise to jump to any conclusions about what this means for Lock.
What Broncos Country witnessed Sunday was at the extremes. The normal level of the offense is not what we saw in the first 37 minutes. But it also probably isn’t what we saw in the final 23, either.
And to say that we know what this means for the future of Lock and the Broncos is farcical, too.
Yes, John Elway led a comeback in a similar game in 1983, guiding the Broncos back from a 19-0 fourth-quarter deficit to a 21-19 triumph over the Baltimore Colts.
But Tim Tebow did something similar in 2011, awakening the Broncos from a 50-minute South Florida slumber for an 18-15 overtime win over Miami after trailing 15-0 in a game whose desultory start had echoes Sunday. Even Trevor Siemian led the Broncos back from a 17-7 fourth-quarter deficit against the defending NFC champion Panthers in his first career start.
A huge rally was a sign of greatness to come for Elway. It wasn’t for Siemian and Tebow.
So, yes, enjoy the moment.
But don’t anoint Lock based on the comeback — and don’t castigate him for the 24-3 deficit, either.
Let the weeks to come play out. Let the sample size build to the point where there is enough for a full evaluation, not a cherry-picked glimpse. And let’s see what Lock and this offense can do as the opportunity to push for a wild-card playoff spot sits within reach.
Maybe the Halloween rock can become a Christmas stocking full of candy in the form of a playoff berth and an answer at quarterback. Or perhaps it will be another year with a lump of coal.
