Vic Fangio details why he chose Teddy Bridgewater to be the Broncos' starting quarterback over Drew Lock

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Tick tock, tick tock.

With the final preseason game just days away and the regular season quickly approaching, time was ticking for Vic Fangio to end the Broncos’ quarterback competition and name a starter.

“It was really, really close, as I said. I don’t think anybody lost the job. We had to make a decision. And we went with Teddy,” Fangio told the media on Wednesday, hours after informing the team that Teddy Bridgewater had won the job.

The head coach was right. Neither Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater ran away with the job.

“There wasn’t a lot of separation,” Fangio emphasized Wednesday after practice. “Both guys had good camps. They both played well. Both had their down moments. Both had their good moments. Thought it was good overall from both of them.”

In the preseason, both Teddy and Drew were on point.

In the two games, Bridgewater went 16-of-19 for 179 yards and two touchdowns, while Lock went 14-of-21 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Neither turned the ball over.

The biggest difference in the preseason was the points per possession. In Lock’s eight preseason drives, he averaged 2.8 points. In Bridgewater’s drives, not only did he score on every single possession, he averaged a whopping six points per possession.

“Like I told the team today, when you have a quarterback competition, there’s one of three things that can happen,” Fangio explained. “One guy plays way better than the other guy and the decision is easy and everybody sees it. The other thing is both guys can play below par and you’re not happy, but you’ve got to make a choice. That did not happen either. The 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.”

But why did Bridgewater get the nod over Lock?

“We just made this decision. We think it’s for the best for the team right now moving forward, but we have two good quarterbacks,” Fangio said. “Two quarterbacks that we can win with and unfortunately you can’t play with two.”

“I just feel now is the right time,” Fangio said, adding why he made the decision before the third preseason game. “There is no formula that you go through and enter things in and come up—we just felt today was the right time for that.”

Throughout training camp, Fangio—who made the final call—did not go back and forth between Lock and Bridgewater. Instead, he gathered information throughout camp and the preseason.

“Just kept gathering information,” he said, explaining his process. “The calendar is closing in and I think this is a good time to do it.”

Before making the final decision, the head coach talked with every offensive coach individually and talked “a lot” with Pat Shurmur and Mike Shula. He also talked with his boss, George Paton, who talked with John Elway as well.

“Talked a lot with George, obviously. George kept John abreast of everything,” Fangio explained. “When John was here, I could never talk to John because I was either on the field or in player meetings. George relayed me John’s opinions. It was a conglomeration. But ultimately, I had to make the decision.”

Fangio said Lock being younger and having the potential to keep growing did not play into his decision. Instead, he said his focus was on doing what was the “right decision for the team.”

In the second preseason game against Seattle, Bridgewater outperformed Lock as he went 9-of-11 for 105 yards and a touchdown for a 136.7 passer rating.

“Well, he played good in the Seattle game, obviously,” Fangio said. “Had some really nice throws. Manipulated the pocket some to make some of those throws. He had good protection. Was accurate with them. And played well.”

Fangio didn’t look at this as being just a decision for Week 1. He hopes Bridgewater can hold onto the job for the entire season “because we’re playing good and winning.”

“He has a calmness to him. He has a confidence to him that can radiate to the rest of the offense and the team,” Fangio said, explaining Bridgewater’s intangibles. “I think he has a very good knowledge of the game and a feel for the quarterback position and the entire offense—how all 11 work, not just his position. Overall, he’s an intelligent quarterback.”

Despite it being the final preseason game, both quarterbacks will play against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.

However, only Teddy Bridgewater is expected to play against the New York Giants in Week 1.