DENVER — A dismal first half for the Broncos’ offense on Sunday got even worse on Denver’s last pass attempt before halftime.
With 53 second left, on 3rd-and-10, Teddy Bridgewater made his last pass of the game as Ravens first-round pick Odafe Oweh drilled Bridgewater, contacting the crown of his helmet to Teddy’s facemask.
As the team went into the locker room for halftime, Bridgewater’s game ended as he was evaluated for a concussion. Midway through the third quarter, Bridgewater’s underwhelming day was officially over.
“We love Teddy dearly. He came in and won us all [over],” Garett Bolles said, adding losing their starting quarterback shook the team. “He has a heart of gold. I love that man dearly. I know it hurts us.”
After the game, however, there was a sign of hope that Bridgewater would be back for Denver’s game next Sunday against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
“I just saw him, and he says he’s getting better as the day goes on, so we’ll see,” Vic Fangio said about Teddy Bridgewater’s status after Denver 23-7 loss to the Ravens on Sunday.
In Bridgewater’s worst half as a Bronco, he went 7-of-16 for 65 yards, one touchdown and a 76.3 passer rating. Denver’s offense was only able to muster one scoring drive in the first half, which turned out to be the Broncos’ only points on the day.
During halftime, Lock found out it was a “strong possibility” he would be taking over, at least to start the second half, Fangio stated. Lock played the entire second half. As underwhelming as Teddy’s half was, Drew’s was even less productive.
In five drives in the second half, the Broncos didn’t score once as they racked up four punts and an interception to seal the game. In his half of work, Lock went 12-of-21 for 113 yards along with one interception for a 52.3 passer rating.
“Well I think his performance was just like the rest of the offense,” the head coach said, evaluating Lock’s game. “We just weren’t good enough today after the one touchdown we got, and we really couldn’t get anything going. We weren’t getting it going with Teddy either after the touchdown drive so I think it’s more of a collective thing offensively than a quarterback thing.”
There is a chance Bridgewater can pass through the concussion protocol and play Week 5 against the Steelers. However, Bridgewater wouldn’t be cleared until later in the week.
“I’m not sure how the protocols are, but I’m going to go about it like I’m going to start this weekend,” Lock said after the game. “It will be a good chance to go back to Pittsburgh and kind of put some of that to bed from last year. It would be exciting for me to take reps, get with these guys, get in the swing of things and see what we can do to a good Pittsburgh Steeler team.”
Lock stated the most difficult part of being the backup is the lack of reps he receives in practice. That won’t be an issue this week as he’ll receive the majority of the reps until Bridgewater passes the concussion protocol, if he passes.
“I love Teddy dearly. I hope it’s not too bad. I talked to him a little bit,” Garett Bolles said after the game. “Hopefully, he heals up, but I know Drew is going to hold it down until Teddy comes back.”
As the team looks to rebound from their worst outing of 2021, all eyes will be on Bridgewater’s availability.
