Up to this point, Drew Lock has struggled through the 2020 season.

But, a great game today could help salvage it. Or, at least, send him out on a high note and help ease criticisms going into the offseason.

In 12 starts this season, Lock has enjoyed three good or great games, four mediocre contests and five bad games. Simply, he’s been far too inconsistent to warrant knowing whether or not he’s the Broncos’ quarterback of the future, even if he’s the certain starter going into 2021.

Currently, Lock’s simple stats are as follows: 57.0 completion percentage for 2,594 yards with 14 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. But, if he can find a way to light up the Raiders today, it would go a long ways in this upcoming offseason.

Let’s say Lock can throw for a career-high 406 yards today, that would push him to 3,000 on the season. Yes, the number is still way lower than elite quarterbacks in a complete season, but keep in mind it will be only his 13th start today including that injury-shortened loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And, if he wants to throw for that high number of yards, he’ll need to be extremely accurate. If Lock can somehow complete 76.7 percent of his passes (say, going 23-30) he would move out of dead-last in the NFL and up to 35th or possibly 34th in the league.

Finally, if Lock can throw for two-plus touchdowns more than interceptions, he could finish the year with a positive TD-INT ratio. Plus, given the fact his 15 picks lead the league, playing the final game of the year without a turnover would be something for Lock and his fanbase to hang their hats on going into the offseason.

How likely are the numbers to be reached? Lock has thrown for 300 yards only twice, never 400. This season, he’s thrown two more touchdowns than interceptions twice and in the Carolina game, his best-ever, his completion percentage was 77.8. It should be noted that K.J. Hamler was a big reason why Lock was so great against the Panthers and Hamler is out today. So, not likely.

But, it’s something to root for in this basically meaningless game.

What else is on the line today?

Draft position

A win today would be a positive way to end the year, just like a great Lock performance, but it would hurt Denver’s draft position as well. As it currently stands, the Broncos are slated to pick 10th overall in the upcoming draft. A win today could mean picking as high as 15th, while a loss could mean rising as high as 7th. Of course, we won’t know for sure until all the games are played this weekend.

What should Broncos fans root for? Zach Segars discusses here.

Jeremiah Attaochu bonus

Attaochu has been a feel-good story going back to last season. Late last year, Attaochu was asked to play more and balled out late with 3.5 sacks over the last month of the season. This year, he’s up to 4.0 sacks on the year, with three of them coming the last month. One more sack today would mean a $250,000 bonus to the seven-year veteran who brings a lunch pail to every game.

Denver (5-10) – Las Vegas (7-8) kicks off at 2:25 p.m. MT today at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.