ENGLEWOOD — From Teddy Bridgewater outdueling Drew Lock to rookie safety Caden Sterns having the first interception of camp, here are the top observations from Day 2 of Broncos training camp: 

QB battle update: Teddy Bridgewater wins Day 2

From his first throw of the day to his last, Teddy Bridgewater clearly won Day 2 of the quarterback competition against Drew Lock. 

Bridgewater looked sharp all practice, only throwing one incompletion during team drills for the second consecutive day. His two best throws went to wide receiver Tim Patrick — the first down the left sideline for 25-30 yards and the second an 8-yard, back corner of the end zone fade for a touchdown. 

Lock struggled. He didn’t complete a pass during 11-on-11 drills until his 10th attempt.

Video: Broncos 2021 training camp

Defenders forced Lock to scramble or throw the ball away several times and he nearly threw an interception in the second set of team drills. Lock rebounded in the red zone, throwing three touchdown passes to end the day. Coaches will note that, on a couple of those, he might have been sacked on in a real game. 

While Wednesday was arguably a tie between the two, Bridgewater clearly won Day 2. 

Star of the day: Tim Patrick

Patrick caught three touchdowns Thursday, all in the red zone. Patrick is coming off the best season of his career, catching 51 passes for 742 yards and six touchdowns. 

Patrick has become one of the Broncos’ top red-zone targets, catching nine passes inside the 20-yard line last season. Coach Vic Fangio said Thursday red zone drills will continue to be a priority during training camp, which is good news for Patrick. 

“The receivers have to understand the tightness of it,” Fangio said. “We’ve got an end line. There’s 12 defenders on defense now. It’s bad for the defense to be down there, however it happened. But the defense has an advantage. … The offense has to change. The quarterback’s placement of the ball has to change.

“That’s why we spend a lot of time on it.” 

Highlight of the day: Bridgewater to Patrick, 8-yard touchdown

The best play of the day was Bridgewater’s fade pass to Patrick in the back right corner of the end zone over cornerback Kyle Fuller. Patrick had to tap both feet to make sure to stay in. But thanks to a great pass from Bridgewater, the catch looked routine for Patrick.

Timmy Toe Tap is back 👣@Tpstreets x #BroncosCamp pic.twitter.com/JfqSfiFrJk

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) July 29, 2021

Rookie of the day: Safety Caden Sterns

The Broncos fifth-round pick out of Texas, safety Caden Sterns, had the first interception of training camp Thursday, picking off third-string quarterback Brett Rypien. Sterns was in the right place at the right time, jumping a route and letting the ball come right to him. 

Sterns is pushing to make the 53-man roster, hoping to back up Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson. 

“He had a nice pick,” Fangio said. “He’s done a good job with picking up our defense, learning it, being able to graduate from level one, level two, level three, meaning not just knowing his job and making sure he’s doing that, but maybe put a little more on Sunday and see more. That comes with experience. And his clock in that regard has been fast.” 

Fangio quote of the day: Bradley Chubb’s surgery

Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb did not participate in team drills again Thursday, as he remains limited with an ankle injury. Chubb had surgery in May, but had originally hoped the injury would heal on its own. 

Fangio said, in hindsight, they wish Chubb would have had surgery earlier. Chubb is still expected back soon. 

“In hindsight, for sure. Everybody was confident it would heal on its own naturally and when he did the surgery, it was not a slam dunk to have it,” Fangio said. “There was still a school of thought that he could overcome it naturally, but he decided to go do it and when they went in there it was good that he did, not that it was bad, but it was very easily fixable. It wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be or could be and he’ll be back soon.”