MINNEAPOLIS — Drew Lock’s 80-yard touchdown pass got all the love Saturday afternoon. And rightfully so. 

The bomb to wide receiver KJ Hamler was Lock’s best throw of the game, hitting the speedy Hamler in stride. But for Lock, who was 5 for 7 with 151 yards and two touchdowns against Minnesota on Saturday, maybe his best play was his third-down completion to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. 

Facing third and 4, Lock stood in the pocket and delivered short to Jeudy, who caught the pass just past the first-down marker and turned it into a 33-yard gain. The play showed growth in Lock, who had to wait for the play to develop, instead of forcing a ball to someone not open or throwing the ball away too early — issues he often had a season ago. 

“I got to my third read, which is (Jeudy),” Lock said, “and they covered the beginning of the play really well and that concept that we run, sometimes that middle guy gets lost and sure enough Jerry’s slippery enough to get in there and not be seen and he was standing there right for me.”

Lock entered Saturday’s preseason with an immense amount of pressure on his shoulders, in what many consider a make-or-break season for him. Starting over Teddy Bridgewater on Saturday meant he likely needed to create some sort of separation between the two before Bridgewater starts next week against Seattle. 

And while coach Vic Fangio said there is still no separation between the two, Lock looked like the quarterback many within the organization hope he can be on a week-to-week basis. Even if he wasn’t perfect. 

“I incompleted two balls but that’ll always go back, watch those because you’re not always going to be perfect,” Lock said. “Perfect games still out there. Coach (Mike) Shula talks about quarterback test is a perfect test still out there and there’s a perfect game still out there. We want to try and be perfect and learn from it when we’re not.”

Lock appears to be learning with every game, having been drastically better in the second half of last season. 

In the last six games of the season, he threw for 1,436 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. In his first seven games, he threw for 1,497 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. If he stays on that trajectory, what will the first few games of 2021 look like?

That’s what he and the Broncos are hoping to find out, because now for Lock, it’s all about staying consistent. 

“That was the main goal,” Lock said. “(Quarterbacks) coach Shula and (offensive coordinator Pat) Shurmur this offseason were like, ‘Hey we don’t want to start over here in OTAs and going into training camp. Felt like you started playing better as the year went on better and better each game, and let’s pick up where you left off when you come in and from a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint.’

“I feel like I’m a little past where I left off and that feels really good to be able to say that right here today.”