In the wake of the pummeling, Broncos Country on Twitter whipsawed back and forth between making excuses for Lock and branding him the latest QB disaster for a team that's turned into the gridiron equivalent of an open sewer since the glories of Super Bowl 50.
There's evidence to support both of these positions.
On the positive side, Lock maintained his composure despite being under near constant pressure from the not-quite-vaunted KC defensive front amid conditions ideal only for the Winter Olympics. And while he threw an idiotic interception to Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill, he continues to build on the chemistry he's developing with Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant and Tim Patrick, and his mobility and moxie are clearly assets.
The problem with grading on the curve, though, is that Lock's completion percentage was below 50 percent (18 of 40 for a measly 208 yards) and he repeatedly failed to get the offense over the hump while the game was still in reach, which it was for longer than the final score implies. Granted, the defense was subpar: Longtime standout cornerback Chris Harris Jr. appears to have stopped caring, and the scheme that prevented tight ends from running wild against Denver up until this point of the season fell apart against the Chiefs' Travis Kelce, who caught eleven Patrick Mahomes passes for 142 yards and probably could have doubled that if it had been necessary. But Lock simply couldn't shoulder the load forced upon him by an anemic running game that managed a cumulative 52 yards.
Nonetheless, plenty of tweeters remain optimistic about Lock's future...even as others are happy to let the bandwagon leave without them. Our picks for the twenty most memorable post-game messages exemplify the debate:
Number 20:
Denver Broncos rookie QB Drew Lock is off to a good start!
— Capricorn (@kendell_m) December 15, 2019
Can he keep it going? Lock didn't keep it going pic.twitter.com/CYb8nhRdus
Number 19:
Drew Lock is slowly morphing into joe Flacco
— Alejandro Vera (@Veracity7615) December 15, 2019
Number 18:
Listen, this week has been a dose of reality for #broncos Qb but man this O line is as porous as sieve. Drew lock will be good. Need to fix other issues now. Let him make the rookie mistakes and learn from them.
— Adam (@OrangeNBlueLP) December 15, 2019
Number 17:
@DrewLock23 looks good, the broncos just sucks. He looks like he van be a good qb one day
— Clinton McMiller Jr (@lilmac0sev) December 15, 2019
Number 16:
One bad game and rookie mistakes in one game makes @DrewLock23 terrible? Stfu. This weather playing in KC is tough. Stay on your couch you fat fucks.
— Brandon Crew (@BrandonCrew3) December 15, 2019
Number 15:
Oh boy. Rookie mistake there by Drew Lock. Throwing across the field with not enough mustard on it. INT in the end zone.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) December 15, 2019
Number 14:
Elway's QBs through 3 starts:
— v?????????s?????????.????????? (@denVSeverybody) December 15, 2019
Brock Osweiler 59 of 95 62.1% 686 yards 4 TDs 2 INTs
Trevor Siemian 63/94 67% 756/5/3
Paxton Lynch 58/97 60% 538/2/1
Case Keenum 66/108 61.1% 743/3/5
Joe Flacco 76/110 69.1% 773/2/2
Brandon Allen 39/84 45.4% 515/3/2
Drew Lock 58/95 61.1% 651/5/3
Number 13:
Drew Lock sucks. He had one bad game in bad weather therefore he’s not the guy https://t.co/xP0ZCTziU1
— Benny (@Bennyficial303) December 15, 2019
Number 12:
Lock was a rookie....Denver lost as usual. Terrible organization
— Marshal Magoo (@MarshalMagoo) December 16, 2019
Number 11:
@DrewLock23 you suck. we know you still love the chiefs
— kayden(@HoodieChubb) December 15, 2019
Number 10:
You have to consider that Drew Lock is a rookie, in a new unfamiliar system, he doesn’t know all the plays, had little to no first team reps in training camp and preseason, was injured most of the season and so forth. All things considered, he is doing good so far.
— Luke Combs (@YankeesNerd23) December 16, 2019
Number 9:
In 1983, John Elway followed the two best performances of his rookie season — including leading the Broncos back from a 19-0 deficit vs. the Colts — with a 4-INT stinker in Kansas City in December.
— William Israel (@iambulldog316) December 16, 2019
Not saying Drew Lock is Elway, but games like this happen for young QBs. It’s OK.
Number 8:
Yeah. Mahomes got an unholy amount of time in the pocket while drew lock got pummeled for the entirety of the game. Also he’s a rookie. The broncos are a lot closer than you realize.
— Dalton Schoenberger (@djschoen24) December 16, 2019
Number 7:
Not the result I had hoped for, but my enthusiasm for @DrewLock23 hasn’t waned. Tough sledding (wink) in this weather as a super-rookie. And Denver’s penalties. Ugh. #Broncos
— Marcus Wilkins (@TheBigM_) December 15, 2019
Number 6:
Matty Mock, Drew Lock, kitchen sock, it doesn’t matter who’s at Qb the broncos suck
— Trev (@steezindasteez) December 15, 2019
Number 5:
Drew Lock fucking sucks! #Broncos
— eibook (@Koobie_2009) December 15, 2019
Number 4:
I’m not gonna argue that he looked like a rookie. You also can’t blame people for being excited about what they say the 2 weeks prior. He got dealt a bad hand today. But again, don’t act as if the line didn’t fail him today either. They’re at fault as much as Lock and the defense
— Duck (@FlashMontana) December 15, 2019
Number 3:
I see why MU fans like Drew Lock. He sucks. And MU fans like things that suck.
— Trevor B (@eturnl2009) December 15, 2019
Number 2:
Drew Lock is so much better than Flacco it’s not close.
— Jeremy Paul (@JeremyBlackley) December 15, 2019
Number 1:
Drew Lock looks good but the Broncos just suck
— MIZ/CHIEFS (@joshfann43) December 15, 2019
