Broncos quarterback Drew Lock went into the locker room at halftime appearing to have taken a step in the right direction. 

He had led Denver on a 75-yeard march down the field before halftime to cut the Bills’ lead to 21-13. On the drive, he was 7 of 8 for 56 yards, capping it with a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Noah Fant. But the next time Lock would touch the ball, he did what he’s done too often all season: turned it over. 

The 24-year-old was strip sacked on Denver’s first possession of the third quarter, with the Broncos then trailing 28-13. The fumble was returned 21 yards for a touchdown, putting the Broncos behind 22 points in what would be the back-breaking play in a 48-19 loss Saturday that eliminated the Broncos from the playoffs for a fifth-straight season. 

“(My emotions) were really high and then I was very upset with myself,” Lock said. “I just stepped up, kept my eyes down field and didn’t necessarily feel (the defender) from behind. I should have. … Obviously we were feeling very good going into it at the end of the half. That was a big drive for us, showed that we could move the ball extremely well. And then coming out, (we) made mistakes here and there and they’re a good team and they jumped on it.” 

Lock finished 20 of 32 for 132 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also rushed for 37 yards. It wasn’t a bad performance, but it certainly wasn’t stellar, either — especially after arguably the best game of his career a week ago against the Panthers. 

Last Sunday, Lock was 21 of 27 for 280 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. As on Saturday, he also had a costly fumble. Lock has turned the ball over at least once in every game this season except the season opener against Tennessee. 

It’s become Lock’s glaring issue, having thrown 13 interceptions and losing three fumbles this season. Lock’s counterpart Saturday, Josh Allen, was phenomenal, totaling 392 yards and four touchdowns, while committing no turnovers. 

But Saturday’s loss wasn’t all on Lock and the offense. Melvin Gordon had one of his better games this season, rushing for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Fant did as well, catching eight passes for 68 yards and one touchdown. And Lock, while having the costly fumble in the third quarter, played relatively smart, making checkdowns and not forcing the ball into tight windows. 

“I thought in the first half it was pretty good,” coach Vic Fangio said of Lock and the offense’s performance. “We moved the ball. We had some first downs. We had a chance for 17 points there, which would have been a nip-and-tuck game. But in the second half, we just couldn’t get anything going until late.”

Lock and the Broncos offense have potential, with a relatively young offensive line, two solid running backs, an abundance of tight ends and young playmakers like rookie wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler — who combined for for only two catches for 23 yards after combining for four catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns a week ago. 

But Saturday certainly wasn’t the step forward they were hoping for after last week’s performance. And, with only two games left this season, Lock and the young Broncos have a lot to prove ahead of 2021. 

“I mean, it was definitely a bad day. It was not a good day for us,” Lock said. “I wouldn’t say any of us are feeling a way that we’re taking a step back. But that was not a good day for us by any means. And our job is to figure out why it wasn’t.”