Six passes into Sunday’s game, Drew Lock’s critics were probably as loud as they’ve ever been. 

Coming off arguably the worst performance of his career — a four-interception, 37-12 loss to the Raiders — Lock needed to prove himself against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. And starting 0 of 6 with an interception was not the way to do it. 

But Lock answered, finishing the game 18 of 30 for 270 yards. And while he was far from perfect, the second-year quarterback played well enough to help the Broncos (4-6) beat the Dolphins 20-13. 

“This was a game that was pretty much chalked up before we even played it,” Lock said. “In a lot of people’s eyes there was no way we were going to be able to pull this one off. That’s just typical NFL football. You’ve got to take it week by week — that’s what I’ve figured out.

“I was extremely determined. There was a lot of talk about (me) playing this week or not playing this week. There was nothing pain-wise that was going to stop me from playing in this game.”

Broncos top Dolphins as Vic Fangio, Denver’s defense frustrate Tua Tagovailoa

Lock, who was limited in practice all week due to bruised ribs, looked as though he was on pace to repeat last week’s performance when he threw an interception on the second offensive play of the game, which led to the Dolphins’ only touchdown. 

Lock didn’t get rattled, though. He settled in and finally completed his first pass on Denver’s third possession, finding K.J. Hamler over the middle for 15 yards on third and 10. 

“Drew comes back from bad plays,” coach Vic Fangio said. “I think that’s one of his good qualities. I don’t think he lets it linger and has a hangover from it.”

Denver Broncos ground game delivers regardless of runner in win over Miami Dolphins

After an 0-and-6 start, Lock completed his next four passes, leading the Broncos down the field to tie the score at seven on a Melvin Gordon 1-yard touchdown run. 

From there, Lock looked like his normal self. He missed some deep throws — a consistent problem this season — but hit the easy ones, dumping it off to guys like Noah Fant and Jerry Jeudy and letting them do the work. He finished with a 54.8 passing grade, according to Pro Football Focus, his third lowest of the year. 

Still, Lock responded well considering all the noise surrounding him and his future with the Broncos in the days leading up to the game. 

“I just feel like, as a quarterback, you have to be able to have that mindset to where nothing can get to you,” Gordon said. “He probably ran across some things and probably heard some things, but good quarterbacks block that out and do what needs to be done. … For him to come out here and be resilient and do what he needs to do to help this team — and lead after he took so much heat last week, it just shows what type of player he is.”

Woody Paige: Denver Broncos win one for ailing Floyd Little

From here, Lock still has much to prove in his final six games this season. With only a 2 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight, Lock and the Broncos essentially have to win out, beating the likes of the Saints (8-2), Chiefs (9-1) and Bills (7-3). 

But if Lock wants to be the Broncos’ quarterback of the future, he likely doesn’t have to lead them to the playoffs this season. He just needs to show improvement week-to-week, similar to what he did Sunday. 

“I hate this cliché line — any given Sunday — everyone says it, but it’s very true,” Lock said. “Regardless of how weeks went before you’ve got to learn what you need to from the last week and come into this week ready to go — fired up — taking what you learn from week by week and eventually this team is going to have learned a lot and we’re going to keep rolling and we’re going to end up being a team that’s one to watch out for.”