The Denver Broncos have an opportunity in Week 15 to head into a division rival’s home and snag a victory that would be their third in a row. The Broncos are riding a wave was sparked by the team’s decision to start second-round draft pick, Drew Lock, against the Chargers a few weeks back.
Drew Lock clearly had some nerves in his first start, the team was fortunate to win despite his shaky game. He came out in his second start and did something no rookie had ever done before, throwing for 300 yards and three touchdowns in his first career road start with an 81% completion percentage as the team scored a season-high 38 points.
The storyline this week has been that Drew Lock grew up in Columbia, Mo., attended Lee’s Summit High School, and went to college at the University of Missouri. Lock’s high school is located 20 minutes from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and many of Lock’s friends and family were Chiefs fans growing up. The Lock fan section at this road game is expected to be large as the Drew Lock hype train continues to gain momentum with an opportunity to face a challenging division opponent on the road.
The Broncos are a ten-point underdog with an over-under of 45 points. That over-under is a bit insane considering the chiefs are the fourth-highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 28.5 points, and that stat includes two-and-a-half weeks without their best player. Combine that with the fact the Broncos, under Lock’s quarterbacking, are averaging 30.5 points per game in two starts.
I’m trying to temper expectations and reserve my emotional excitement for Lock and hold out until there’s more tape, teams can plan against him, and we see him take big developmental strides. After seeing Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, Joe Flacco, and Brandon Allen, I am waiting to see Lock have longevity and learn how he handles adversity before I crown him king.
At this point, winning games feels counter-intuitive, especially if the Broncos believe Lock is the quarterback of the future. Landing a top draft pick in the 2019 draft could mean the difference in replacing Garrett Bolles with a top talent left tackle and getting a project left tackle for a replacement in later rounds. You want the team to end the season on a high note and give hope back to everyone, but as a realist, draft picks in the middle of the first round become as much of a random chance as any mid-round pick. This can be showcased by the recent mid-round selections of Bradley Roby, Shane Ray, Garrett Bolles, and Paxton Lynch, all talented players with high ceilings but there’s a reason they all slipped in the draft.
The Chiefs are currently riding a three-game winning streak after beating the Patriots on the road and completing a homestand sweep against the Raiders and Chargers. At the end of the day, they still have an incredible quarterback who is only 24 years old, coming off an MVP season, with the game’s best tight end, one of the most explosive wide receivers in the game, an opportunistic defense, and a good supporting cast. The Broncos shouldn’t win this game, but the fact that Drew Lock has elevated hopes and the fans feel like there’s a chance is definitely positive.
With the way the Broncos defense can play and the unknown about how well this offense can operate with Lock at the helm, the outcome is up in the air. The Broncos likely lose this game but beat the spread and absolutely clear the over on the over-under.
The Broncos will be without Ja’Wuan James, Ronald Leary, Demarcus Walker, Adam Gotsis, Dre’Mont Jones, and Juwann Winfree. The team added Kyle Peko via waivers to add depth to the defensive line and expects Austin Schlottmann to get work at right guard again this week. Noah Fant, is questionable with the ankle injury he sustained in last week’s big performance
Prediction: Chiefs 31, Broncos 28
