Miles
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- Mar 18, 2019
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As the Broncos head into the final quarter of the season, Head Coach Vic Fangio is looking for continued improvement from second-year quarterback Drew Lock.
The 2019 draft pick nearly became just the fourth Broncos quarterback to win at Arrowhead Stadium in December, as he led the Broncos to a go-ahead score in the third quarter. The Broncos, though, couldn't cap a late comeback and fell 22-16 to the defending Super Bowl champs.
Lock was picked off twice by Tyrann Mathieu — on both the first and final drives of the game — and finished 15-of-28 for 151 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and a 63.2 passer rating.
The Broncos did finish 7-of-13 on third down and posted three scoring drives of at least seven plays, including an 11-play, 72-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter.
"We've got to cut down on the interceptions, obviously," Fangio said Monday. "We just need to see the continued improved play, and I think converting the third downs last night showed that a little bit. We had a good day in the red zone — that shows development in a quarterback. Just need to make good throws, good plays, good reads, run the offense from the start of the huddle to the line of scrimmage. We're not always spot on right there, and we need to be."
Fangio said the Broncos were not considering replacing Lock with Brett Rypien during the final stretch of the season.
"I think Drew has got it in him and we're going to keep working with him on that," Fangio said.
The Broncos' head coach is hopeful the team's third-down success can continue with Lock under center and a run game that tallied 179 yards on Sunday.
"Hopefully," Fangio said. "We popped some runs in there, which is always good to have. [We] made some good catches and throws. We had a chance for another one there right before the half — Noah [Fant] slipped, and he was going to be able to make a cut that I think definitely would have got the first down and more. So yes, we definitely did have a better night on third down, and hopefully we can build on that and carry that over for the final four games."
The Broncos' biggest challenge, though, will be to avoid turnovers after their giveaway total climbed to a league-worst 28. No other team has turned it over more than 23 times, and the Broncos' turnover margin also ranks last in the NFL.
"We've got to get it corrected," Fangio said. "I think we lead the league in interceptions thrown. Obviously, that's where we got to start. We haven't gotten enough takeaways on defense — that's [also] where we got to start — and it's obviously an area that we need to improve on and it's an area that has held us back this season."