Entering the Denver Broncos' second preseason game last Saturday at Seattle, the consensus was that incumbent Drew Lock had the edge over trade acquisition Teddy Bridgewater to win the team's regular-season starting quarterback job. However, Bridgewater outplayed Lock against the Seahawks and that was enough for embattled coach Vic Fangio to name Bridgewater his Week 1 starter at the New York Giants. The Broncos are currently -1.5 at Caesars Sportsbook, and Fangio is the SportsLine odds-on favorite to be the first NFL coach fired this season.
Against Seattle, Bridgewater was 9-for-11 for 105 yards and a touchdown – he led two TD drives overall while playing most of his time with the first-string offense. Lock was 9 of 14 for 80 yards and a pedestrian passer rating of 79.5. In Denver's first preseason game vs. Minnesota, Lock started and went 5 of 7 for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Bridgewater was 7 of 8 for 74 yards with a touchdown.
Bridgewater will be starting for his fourth NFL team and is 26-23 overall as a starter. He was 17-11 with Minnesota, 5-1 with New Orleans and then 4-11 last year with Carolina before being traded right before the draft to Denver for a sixth-round pick.
Bridgewater will become the 11th quarterback to start for Denver since Peyton Manning retired after winning Super Bowl 50. The Broncos are 32-48 since then. This will be the fifth straight season that Denver will have a different starting QB Week 1.
A few Caesars props currently active on Bridgewater: He's +4000 to lead the NFL in interceptions, which Lock co-led last year with Carson Wentz. Bridgewater is a +15000 long shot to lead the league in passing yards and the same price to lead in passing TDs.
In a way, this makes sense for Fangio because he's on the hottest seat in the NFL and Bridgewater is the safer choice because he has a higher floor than Lock, who is 8-10 in his starting career and completing less than 60 percent of his passes. Bridgewater is at least accurate, completing 69.1 percent of his throws in 2020 with the Panthers and 66.5 percent career.
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