The Broncos have announced that Teddy Bridgewater will be their starting quarterback in Week 1. At least for now, he’s beaten out incumbent Drew Lock.
Bridgewater has a big edge in experience, and a veteran hand could be just what Denver needs to capture a playoff berth. The Broncos will have one of the league’s best defenses; they just need a quarterback who won’t mess things up. Bridgewater seems to be more of that kind of a guy, with more ability to avoid sacks and turnovers.
This is a sneaky team. On the one hand, I can’t guarantee the Broncos won’t finish in last in the AFC West. The Raiders and Chargers also appear to be rising – it’s a tough division. But that defense will be formidable, and the Broncos have a lot of nice offensive weapons. Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon are a solid one-two punch at running back. Noah Fant is an up-and-coming tight end, and they’ve got a great trio of young receivers – Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler.
At some point they might put Lock in there. If Bridgewater is struggling, that would be the logical next move. But with that great supporting cast around him, I think the Broncos will be competitive this year.
Over the last two years, Bridgewater has completed almost 69 percent of his passes, 4th-best in the league (among quarterbacks who’ve started at least half the time). Lock in that time period is the only quarterback who’s completed less than 60 percent of his passes.
| PASSING, LAST TWO YEARS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Com | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 556 | 768 | 72.4% | 5,921 | 51 | 10 |
| Derek Carr, L.V. | 709 | 1030 | 68.8% | 8,157 | 48 | 17 |
| Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 715 | 1039 | 68.8% | 8,675 | 59 | 19 |
| Teddy Bridgewater, N.O.-Car. | 473 | 688 | 68.8% | 5,117 | 24 | 13 |
| Jimmy Garoppolo, S.F. | 423 | 616 | 68.7% | 5,074 | 34 | 18 |
| Kirk Cousins, Min. | 656 | 960 | 68.3% | 7,868 | 61 | 19 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 725 | 1074 | 67.5% | 8,322 | 71 | 18 |
| Ryan Tannehill, Ten. | 516 | 767 | 67.3% | 6,561 | 55 | 13 |
| Philip Rivers, LAC-Ind. | 759 | 1134 | 66.9% | 8,784 | 47 | 31 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 725 | 1095 | 66.2% | 8,301 | 74 | 9 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 709 | 1072 | 66.1% | 8,771 | 64 | 11 |
| Dak Prescott, Dall. | 539 | 818 | 65.9% | 6,758 | 39 | 15 |
| Kyler Murray, Ariz. | 724 | 1100 | 65.8% | 7,693 | 46 | 24 |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 815 | 1242 | 65.6% | 9,047 | 52 | 25 |
| Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 507 | 777 | 65.3% | 5,884 | 62 | 15 |
| Jared Goff, LAR | 764 | 1178 | 64.9% | 8,590 | 42 | 29 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 434 | 670 | 64.8% | 4,154 | 33 | 11 |
| Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 525 | 813 | 64.6% | 5,193 | 33 | 18 |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 667 | 1033 | 64.6% | 7,633 | 57 | 19 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mia. | 494 | 769 | 64.2% | 5,620 | 33 | 21 |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 526 | 819 | 64.2% | 6,583 | 45 | 15 |
| Cam Newton, Car.-N.E. | 292 | 457 | 63.9% | 3,229 | 8 | 11 |
| Tom Brady, N.E.-T.B. | 774 | 1223 | 63.3% | 8,690 | 64 | 20 |
| Kyle Allen, Car.-Was. | 363 | 576 | 63.0% | 3,932 | 21 | 17 |
| Gardner Minshew, Jac. | 501 | 797 | 62.9% | 5,530 | 37 | 11 |
| Daniel Jones, NYG | 564 | 907 | 62.2% | 5,970 | 35 | 22 |
| Andy Dalton, Cin.-Dall. | 530 | 861 | 61.6% | 5,664 | 30 | 22 |
| Carson Wentz, Phil. | 639 | 1044 | 61.2% | 6,659 | 43 | 22 |
| Baker Mayfield, Cle. | 622 | 1020 | 61.0% | 7,390 | 48 | 29 |
| Sam Darnold, NYJ | 490 | 805 | 60.9% | 5,232 | 28 | 24 |
| Jameis Winston, T.B.-N.O. | 387 | 637 | 60.8% | 5,184 | 33 | 30 |
| Drew Lock, Den. | 354 | 599 | 59.1% | 3,953 | 23 | 18 |
—Ian Allan