The Denver Broncos lost to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 12th consecutive time on Sunday night, and quarterback play was the culprit for the defeat.
Teddy Bridgewater completed 22 of 40 passes for 257 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The touchdown came in garbage time after Bridgewater threw a pick-six to Daniel Sorensen, eliminating any chance of a Denver comeback. The 29-year-old quarterback was conservative throughout the night, taking check-downs and throwing the ball away on a number of dropbacks.
Drew Lock is not a much better option at this point for Denver, and head coach Vic Fangio is coaching for his job, which may already be a lost cause. Denver is currently 6-6 and in last place in the AFC West. On the season, Bridgewater has 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions through 12 games, which is average at best. We all know what Bridgewater is at this point in his career; a game manager who rarely takes a shot down the field.
The Broncos are wasting another year of great young talent with their quarterback options.
Until anything changes at the quarterback position, Denver should not be considered a threat to the Chiefs or anyone in the AFC West. They have enough weapons on offense and plenty of talent on defense to be a playoff team, but the hole at the most important position in the league is holding them back. About a week or two ago, the Broncos locked up wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick with multi-year contract extensions. After signing Patrick to a three-year, $30 million contract, it looked that Sutton’s time in Denver would be numbered with the fact that Jerry Jeudy is talented enough to become the number one option in the near future. However, the Broncos signed Sutton to a four-year, $60 million contract shortly after extending Patrick.
It seems that the Broncos could go all-in on a trade this offseason for a quarterback. Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and Deshaun Watson may all be in play for the Broncos. However, Rodgers may not be on the trade block this offseason, as the Packers and Rodgers have had a highly successful season so far. Nonetheless, the Broncos have to make a change at quarterback soon.
This whole quarterback dilemma could have been avoided for the Broncos during the draft last April. Denver had the ninth overall pick and Justin Fields and Mac Jones were both available. The Broncos were in love with cornerback Pat Surtain II and selected him over both quarterbacks. Surtain II is having a stellar rookie campaign with 12 passes defended, 31 solo tackles, seven assisted tackles, and four interceptions, including a pick-six off of Justin Herbert. But what this league has proven is you can have all the talent in the world, yet if you do not have a quarterback who can deliver, it does not matter how good your defense is. Nor does it matter how prolific your running backs and wideouts are.
Look at the Broncos, for example. They have pass-catchers such as Sutton, Jeudy, Patrick, and Noah Fant. At running back, the Broncos have Melvin Gordon, who has had a really solid season through 12 weeks, and Javonte Williams, who is a rookie running back, but looks like he is going to be a star in this league. Defensively, the Broncos have one of the deepest cornerback groups in the league. The team traded Von Miller to the Rams, and the defense is still one of the best in the league.
In the end, it does not matter. Bridgewater is a fringe starting quarterback who is wasting the talent around him. Meanwhile, Lock is over his head in the NFL, a player who has shown glimpses of solid play but will amount to nothing in the league.
That is why it was so puzzling why the Broncos passed up on two quarterbacks who have more potential than the ones they currently employ when you could make an argument that they were already better than Bridgewater and Lock. Denver will clean the slate this offseason by firing most, if not the entire coaching staff, and then spend all their resources on a quarterback. This draft is not the best when it comes to quarterbacks, so I expect Denver to trade for a disgruntled veteran, such as the ones I have already named. If and when that happens is when teams should take the Broncos seriously.