Drew Lock grew up in Missouri as a Kansas City Chiefs fan, with a family that would spend some Sundays at Arrowhead Stadium rooting for their favorite team.
Sunday, when Denver hosts K.C. for an AFC West matchup, Lock's family members will trade their red gear for Broncos orange to support the QB.
"It's hard to forget 22 years of your life, especially because I'm only 23 now," Lock said this week, via the team's official website. "This is my first full year out of Kansas City. Everyone remembers their hometown, so there will always be that feeling of, 'My parents are actually leaving Kansas City to come see the game,' type of deal. It's nothing that makes you play different or nothing that get me all amped up to play the game this week - that's not how it works. You should be amped up for every game every week.
"It is cool, I'll say that. It is cool to be able to put the Darth Vader mask on and steer away from the Jedi and come to the dark side, so to say, over here in Denver. I kind of like playing that guy. Hopefully, I can be that guy and get a win this Sunday and start the rivalry a little bit."
Lock returned last week from injury and helped guide the Broncos to a win over the New England Patriots. It wasn't always steady or pretty, but Denver was able to move the ball between the 20s to earn the W. Facing the star-studded Chiefs offense, Lock will need to improve upon last week, turning those field goals into TDs.
Lock can become the second QB to defeat Bill Belichick and Andy Reid coached teams in back-to-back weeks prior to age 25, joining Ben Roethlisberger (at 22 years old in 2004).
Sunday's matchup is big for the Broncos' chances of getting back into the playoff race. Improving to 3-3 after an 0-3 start would inch a talented young Denver squad closer to contention. A loss to the 5-1 Chiefs would keep Lock's squad in a steep upward climb.
"The measuring stick there is that it's a division game," Lock said. "That's big. If you're going to look at it in from the heart of Broncos Country, it's even bigger. It's the Kansas City Chiefs. And if you want to look at it from my heart, it might be pretty big too. It's my hometown - and at the same time I can't let that change the way I play. It's just a regular game. [I'll] go through my reads, try to push us down the field to score points. This is just another week this week. We're going to come out and prepare the same way, extremely hard, and be ready to go Sunday like it's any other Sunday."
The Broncos have lost nine straight games to the Chiefs dating back to 2015 when Peyton Manning led Denver to a Week 2 W.
