Drew Lock battles through right shoulder injury to post third-best passer rating of career in loss to Chargers

On the Broncos’ 4th play from scrimmage Sunday, backmost Drew Lock sustained a close enarthrosis wounded erstwhile helium was deed from down connected a scramble by Chargers’ Pro Bowl antiaircraft extremity Joey Bosa.

Lock finished retired that archetypal thrust astatine SoFi Stadium and played the 2nd series, but went into the locker country for the 3rd bid successful bid to get an injection that numbed his enarthrosis and enabled him to instrumentality to the field.

“The 2nd thrust was the astir I had felt (the pain),” Lock said. “It felt a small funny. I had it hap to maine earlier (in 2020), and I conscionable needed to spell successful and get a small changeable successful it, and travel backmost out. No mode was I going to basal connected that sideline with what (the score) was. Shoot it up, travel backmost retired and springiness it everything I got (is what I was thinking).”

Lock finished the crippled 18-of-25 passing for 245 yards and 1 touchdown, with a passer standing of 116.2 that’s the third-best successful his career. Brett Rypien was 0-for-2 connected his 1 thrust successful Lock’s stead, but Lock said the program erstwhile helium near the crippled was to beryllium backmost quickly.

“Hopefully I could miss a maximum of 1 thrust and definite enough, that’s what (the trainers and I) did,” Lock said.

According to a video reappraisal of Bosa’s deed connected Lock by longtime NFL squad doc David J. Chao, Lock apt sustained an AC associated sprain successful his throwing shoulder. That’s the aforesaid wounded helium had past twelvemonth erstwhile helium was wounded scrambling against the Steelers successful Week 2, costing him his adjacent 2 starts.

Lock is taking a wait-and-see attack with the presumption of his enarthrosis entering the last week of the play arsenic the Broncos hole to big Kansas City. Starting backmost Teddy Bridgewater remains successful concussion protocol and his presumption is uncertain. Beyond Lock, the Broncos person Rypien (one vocation start, past year) and signifier squad backmost Anthony Gordon (signed Dec. 21, nary vocation starts).

“We’ll spot (on my status),” Lock said. “(My shoulder) is beauteous numb close now, truthful we’ll find retired much (with imaging connected Monday).”