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Teddy Bridgewater, Drew Lock Still Even After Preseason Week 1, Broncos HC Says
August 15, 2021
Drew Lock passed for two touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, Teddy Bridgewater threw for another and Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio is no closer to naming one of them his Week 1 starter.
Following a 33-6 victory in the Broncos' preseason opener, Fangio said his quarterbacks are still "even" when it comes to winning the job.
"I thought that they both played well,'' Fangio told reporters. "They both were helped by the overall play of our offense, we ran the ball well early that sets up our play-action game. ... And then Teddy gets in there and moves the team well. I don't think any separation happened in this game if anybody's looking for it. I'm thrilled they both played well. I want it to be a hard decision.''
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NFL @NFLBeautiful throw from <a href="https://twitter.com/teddyb_h2o?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@teddyb_h2o</a> for the score 🙌<br><br>📺: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DENvsMIN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DENvsMIN</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/nflnetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFLNetwork</a> (or check local listings)<br>📱: <a href="https://t.co/3NquKzXV50">https://t.co/3NquKzXV50</a> <a href="https://t.co/PrQ36pChZG">pic.twitter.com/PrQ36pChZG</a>
Lock completed five of seven passes for 151 yards and a 153.3 rating, while Bridgewater went 7-of-8 with 74 yards and a 144.8 rating.
The 28-year-old out of Louisville is attempting to win his spot with the first-string offense after agreeing to a one-year, $11.5 million deal over the offseason. Bridgewater certainly proved he's still a starter with 15 games as a Carolina Panther last year. He completed 69.1 percent of his pass attempts for 3,733 yards, 15 touchdowns and 11 picks in an offense that only had All-Pro tailback Christian McCaffrey available for three games.
Lock, meanwhile, struggled in his sophomore season out of Missouri with 2,933 yards, 16 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and four fumbles in 13 games. He completed just 57.3 percent of his passes for a 48.8 QBR.
Fangio, who's coached Lock in Denver for the last two years, is still giving him a chance to show improvement and keep his job. Bridgewater didn't make that task any easier Saturday.
"To go out there and execute at a high level with all three units, it was good to see,'' Bridgewater said after the win. "No one really cares who's back there; we just want to win football games.''
Even if that weren't the case, Fangio has yet to give much of an indiction about which way he's leaning under center.
One of the quarterbacks will have to force his hand.