ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Even at the end, the decision wasn't easy.
After weeks of training camp practices and two preseason games, Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock each performed well enough to leave Head Coach Vic Fangio in an unenviable position.
"Like I told the team today, when you have a quarterback competition, there's one of three things that can happen," Fangio said Wednesday. "One guy plays way better than the other guy, and the decision is easy and everybody sees it. The other thing is both guys can play below par, and you're not happy, but you have to make a choice. That didn't happen either. Third is they both play [well] and you have to make a tough choice. We had to make a tough choice because we feel we can win with both of them."
In what Fangio called a "really, really close" competition, he and the Broncos settled on Bridgewater as their starter.
"It was very exciting," Bridgewater said after being named the starter. "I'm just happy that I get an opportunity. I'm happy that I get to continue to lead and be the same guy that I am today, and the same guy that I was yesterday. It's an opportunity for us to continue to grow as a team, and I'm looking forward to that."
Fangio said there wasn't "a lot of separation" between Bridgewater and Lock, and he noted that the team can win with each quarterback.
"Unfortunately, you can't play with two," Fangio said.
Both Bridgewater and Lock, though, will play Saturday against the Rams.
"We'll start the game off with Teddy and we'll see how it goes," Fangio said. "At some point in the first half, we'll take him out and put Drew in."
Fangio said the final decision about a Week 1 starter came after he consulted with a number of different parties.
"I talked to all the offensive coaches individually," Fangio said. "I talked a lot with [Offensive Coordinator] Pat [Shurmur] and [Quarterbacks Coach] Mike [Shula]. I talked a lot with [General Manager] George [Paton]. George kept [President of Football Operations] John [Elway] abreast of everything. When John was here, I couldn't talk to John because I was either on the field or in player meetings. George relayed to me John's opinions. It was a conglomeration, but ultimately, I had to make the decision."
Fangio said he hopes the choice will be a season-long decision and that Bridgewater can continue to "be the guy because we're playing good and winning."
Bridgewater, who excelled against Seattle in the second week of the preseason, should bring a sense of stability to the offense.
"He has a calmness to him, and I think he has a confidence to him that can radiate to the rest of the offense and the team, providing he's playing [well]," Fangio said. "I think that's good. I think he has a very good feel of the game and a feel for the quarterback position, the entire offense and how all 11 [guys] work and not just his position. Overall, he is an intelligent quarterback."
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