What Happened To The Broncos Passing Offense In The 3rd Quarter This Season?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- As the Denver Broncos retool their offense in the offseason, one of the biggest focal points will be improving the passing game. The Broncos threw a league low 16 touchdown passes and were the only team in the NFL to go the full season without throwing a touchdown pass in the third quarter.

According to Pro Football Reference, Denver threw for 747 yards with no touchdowns and five interceptions in the third quarter. Pro Football Reference keeps record of every team's quarterly statistics since the 1994 season and according to the website, this is the only time the Broncos have gone a full year without throwing a touchdown pass in a single quarter.

Stability at the quarterback position will help the Broncos improve their passing numbers. In Drew Lock's five starts, he threw for 1,020 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Vic Fangio feels Lock's play will improve "over time" with a full season under offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello.

"I think they had a good trust between each other," Fangio said at the end of the year press conference on Dec. 30, 2019. "I think the results, although they weren't record setting, the results were good."

Lock agrees with Fangio, commenting on grateful he is for relationship he's developing with Scangarello.

"He didn't press me. He didn't push it on me too hard, Lock said on Dec. 30. "Obviously when I needed to be on my stuff, he corrected me and said, 'You need to pick this up. You need to do this.'"

Lock also added that Scangarello made him feel comfortable "about who I was as a quarterback and just the way he coached me. I'm super grateful for having him in that room and having him on this team."

The Broncos are a popular pick to draft a wide receiver in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. In the latest mock draft from CBS Sports, the Broncos are picked to select Henry Ruggs III from the Alabama Crimson Tide.