Lock faces his biggest test yet vs. Chiefs

Beating the Patriots on the road certainly counts for something, even if the Broncos did it with six field goals and no touchdowns.

But Drew Lock knows Sunday’s test — against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs at home — will be more demanding than any he’s faced thus far as the Broncos starting quarterback.

“The measuring stick there is that it’s a division game,” Lock said. “That’s big. If you’re going to look at it from in the heart of Broncos Country, it’s even bigger.”

The 4- 1 record in his rookie year was a good start. And leading the team to a win in New England last week — a rarity for the franchise as of late — has finally breathed momentum into the Broncos’ season.

But for a second- year quarterback still proving himself, the showdown against his hometown team is a chance to take another big step in his development. The 23- year- old spent the first 22 years of his life in the Show- Me State, starring in high school for Lee’s Summit before going on to be a four- year starter at Mizzou.

“It is cool to be able to put the Darth Vader mask on and steer away from the Jedi and come to the ‘ dark side,’ so to say, over here in Denver,” Lock said. “I kind of like playing that guy. Hopefully, I can be that guy and get a win this Sunday and start the rivalry a little bit.”

Hometown connection aside — Lock insists his roots don’t mean anything once he straps on his helmet — Sunday’s game presents the challenge of having to outduel Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes ( 5- 0 vs. Denver) and beat a Chiefs team that has won nine in a row against the Broncos.

“As a quarterback, you pretty much feel that pressure every single game to put up points,” Lock said. “Pat has been known to put up a lot of points in that offense. If you want to go off of stats and how many points they score a

game, technically speaking, you want to be prepared to put up a lot of points up.”

Lock’s posted a paltry 37.9 QBR ( and correspondingly mediocre 66.9 rating) through twoplus games this season, with a 53.2% competition rate for 425 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Despite the unimpressive stat line — and despite a right shoulder injury that sidelined him for two games and change — the team’s confidence in Lock hasn’t wavered.

The quarterback said routine postgame chats with coach Vic Fangio and general manager John Elway have helped him navigate the early adversity. Those speed bumps included losing his first two starts and exiting the Week 2 defeat in Pittsburgh after suffering the aforementioned shoulder injury in the first quarter.

“Anytime you have a guy like ( Elway) in your corner, it’s a huge help,” Lock said. “It’s immediately after the game ( that we talk). I come in a little late because we do the press stuff on the field, to where I come in and ( my performance) is almost halfway broken down with Vic. Me and ( Elway) right after that will talk. Emotions are high, it’s a very real moment for both of us, and it’s been nice to have that feedback and talk right after the game.”

Count Andy Reid, who coached Drew’s dad, Andy, as an offensive lineman at Missouri in 1989, as a Lock believer.

“The beautiful thing is ( Lock) is getting better with time, which is such a great thing,” the Chiefs head coach said. But it might not be such a great thing for the Chiefs — who’ve already lost one AFC West game this season to Las Vegas, 40- 32, in Week 5 at Arrowhead — if Lock plays up to the hype that preceded his new city’s 2020 season.

“He plays big in the pocket,” Reid said. “He’s not flinchy at all. He’s got a nice touch and seems like a very nice feel for what ( offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur) is asking him to do.”

Lock didn’t play in the Broncos’ first game against Kansas City last year ( he was on injured reserve with a thumb injury) and was largely ineffective in the Chiefs’ 23- 3 thumping of the Broncos at snowy Arrowhead in December.

Last October’s drubbing in Denver set the Broncos on a course toward a fourth straight playoff miss. If they are to avoid the same fate this season, Lock must settle in as the franchise quarterback Elway projected him to be.

There’s no better time to walk into that fire, and come out the other side, than Sunday afternoon against vaunted K. C.

“We need a good stretch with him where he can play the rest of the season for instance, and get comfortable in there, the guys get comfortable and the coaches get to know him better and tailor things to him that he does well,” Fangio said. “He’s doing well… I have great hope for him ( to be great).”