Broncos OLB Von Miller defends QB Drew Lock: ‘Everybody else needs to step up’

“Drew [Lock] is definitely the future,” Von Miller said. “It’s everybody around. Guys have to get open, the offensive line has to block.”

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock had the first bad game of his career on Sunday, a 23-3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the snow. Lock completed just 45 percent of his passes for 208 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in the loss.

Some fans in Denver are questioning if Lock should be viewed as the team’s QB of the future after his poor showing. After the game, veteran outside linebacker Von Miller came to the defense of the young QB.

“Drew is definitely the future,” Miller said Sunday afternoon. “It’s everybody around. Guys have to get open, the offensive line has to block, guys have to run the ball, just cliché little things. Drew is doing what he needs to do. [The] defense needs to stop messing around and rush the pass and play tight coverage.

“We have got to sound like a broken record up here because we keep saying the same thing. We found our quarterback and we have a great one, but everybody else needs to step up. You can’t just lean on one guy, offense, defense or special teams. This is the pros, you cannot just lean on one guy to do it all or to save you, it has to be a collective effort by the foundation of the team.”

Since winning Super Bowl 50 in 2015, Denver has now missed the playoffs four-straight times and has had three-straight losing seasons. The way the team is losing has taken a toll on Miller.

“It’s more than just winning or losing, it just defeats my soul to go out there and play the way we play and lose the way you lose,” Miller said.

Though he was clearly frustrated after Sunday’s game, Miller said he has not lost hope.

“No, I’m not losing hope, I still have the vision,” the linebacker said. “I’m just telling you how I feel after this game. It just doesn’t feel good at all to go out there and play like this.”

Miller, 30, has contract options for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He is set to earn base salaries of $17.5 million in each of the next two years.

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