Drew Lock has been waiting a long time to have his big moment in the NFL. And under the bright lights of Lumen Field, in a primetime matchup against the reigning NFC champions, he had that moment.
Lock engineered a game-winning, 10-play drive capped off by a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba that put Seattle up over the Eagles on “Monday Night Football” with 28 seconds left in the game. Three plays later, his counterpart, reigning MVP runner-up Jalen Hurts, threw a game-sealing interception as the Seahawks took the game.
Few even expected Lock to start the game, with Geno Smith active heading into the game. But Lock wound up as the starter due to Smith’s lingering groin injury, and he shined. Following the win, he was beaming even more in an emotional interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters.
“Amazing won’t do it justice,” Lock said. “But amazing also doesn’t do justice what the o-line, what DK did on that catch, what the receivers did, what Ken Walker, Zach Charbonnet did all game long, the tight ends man. It takes a special group to rally around a guy that is coming into his second game of the year. You’re used to the same things all year long, same cadence, same spin on the ball, everything. A team like that, not just the offense, the defense, to rally around me tonight, man that was amazing.”
“That was amazing… I’m just blessed with a great group of guys.”
Raw emotions from @DrewLock23 following the big MNF win ❤️ pic.twitter.com/26ZBsBUX7x
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2023
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There was plenty of uncertainty about whether Lock would be starting. Typically, an injured player is made inactive for a game. But Smith was listed as active before the contest as the team waited until the final minute to decide on the starter.
The entire week, Lock said he kept the mentality that he would be starting for the Seahawks on Monday. The plan was just to make sure he was ready in case he did wind up getting the starting duties.
He looked the part. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 208 yards with a touchdown, taking only a pair of sacks as he helped lead the Seahawks to the victory, with an improbable 92-yard drive capped off by an incredible throw-and-catch to Smith-Njigba for the go-ahead touchdown to give Seattle the 20-17 lead and the win.
“I’ll remember that play call the rest of my life,” Lock said. “We’re breaking the huddle, I knew Jaxon had the one-on-one, good reminder from [offensive coordinator Shane Waldron]. I say, ‘Hey, Jax, if you’re one-on-one, I’m throwing you this pill.’ Sure enough, gave us a one-on-one look, corner was soft, Jax hit him with some speed, back pylon, back box throw, came with it.”
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Lock’s career has had its ups and downs. He was drafted early in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft with the expectation he might solve the Broncos’ quarterback woes. Instead, after a rocky three years that included leading the league in interceptions in 2020, Lock was part of a trade package to Seattle that sent Russell Wilson to Denver.
In Seattle, many expected the Seahawks would trust Lock to be the starter and hope that a change of scenery would work well. Instead, he was beat in training camp by Geno Smith for the starting job, and Smith wound up winning Comeback Player of the Year. Lock did not get a snap in 2022.
He’s been thrust into more playing time in 2023 due to injuries to Smith, and made his first Seahawks start against the 49ers in Week 14. Lock completed 22 of 31 passes for 269 yards with a pair of touchdowns and two picks, but Seattle lost 28-16.
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This week, facing another top-tier NFC contender with the Seahawks’ playoff hopes dwindling, Lock had a chance to flip the script.
“It’s so hard to describe the feeling of not playing for so long, or at least what feels like a really long time to me. And then you sit there, you watch games, you wonder, ‘Can I do this still? I haven’t been out there on the field.’ That’s the human nature of it,” Lock told Salters. “Get back out there last week, you know what, I’m the man still. I can do this. And then you’ve got another test this week where I didn’t know if I was going to play or not. Sure enough, ended up playing and playing the Eagles tonight. The boys around me rallied tonight. And it’s just, gosh it feels so good. Feels so good. I’m so proud of everybody tonight.”