7 Broncos Under the Gun to Show Out in Final Two Games

These Broncos, for differing reasons, are feeling the pressure most to perform well in the team's final two games of the season.

The Denver Broncos are no longer playing for a playoff berth. That ship sailed when the Buffalo Bills rolled into town and curb-stomped the Broncos with gusto. 

If we're being honest, that boat left the harbor when the NFL strong-armed the Broncos to play the New Orleans Saints in Week 12 without a quarterback. But I digress. 

As a team, the Broncos are simply playing for pride now. With two games left to go, though, there are a handful of players for whom these final two weeks hold unique importance. 

The team brass is using these two games, starting with the Week 16 trip to take on the Los Angeles Chargers, as an evaluation window for individual players — and coaches. Who factors into the Broncos' plans in 2021 and beyond? 

The answer to that question is dictated by draft pedigree (for those still under contract in most cases) and salary-cap investment. But in some cases, there are guys playing and coaching whose contractual situation post-2020 is quite murky. 

So, starting with Sunday's game vs. the Chargers, which Broncos are most under the gun? Let's begin. 

Drew Lock | QB

Lock still has two years left on his rookie contract post-2020 but if he wants to hold down the starting job and leave no question in the minds of the brass, these glorified exhibition games are crucially important. Lock can't just be solid; he has to be consistently good and he has to win. 

Lock has been under enormous pressure all year long, but especially since his mask-wearing snafu forced the Broncos to all-but-forfeit Week 12's Saints game, which was the last thing he needed on the heels of his up-and-down season up to that point. The Broncos brass stressed all week that Lock has to show consistency in these final two games and if he doesn't, the quarterback position could be shaken up in 2021. 

If he is consistently good, the Broncos will take the far less painful tack and roll into next year with Lock as the understood quarterback. These two meaningless games to punctuate the 2020 campaign are extremely important for Lock at the individual level and his long-term future in the NFL. 

Lloyd Cushenberry | C

Cushenberry didn't have it easy, being asked to be a day-one starter as a rookie center without an offseason training program or a preseason, and with a significantly truncated training camp. Although the Broncos are saying mostly good things about him, you can't even say that Cushenberry's rookie campaign has been 'up and down'. It's mostly been down. 

Because of Graham Glasgow's albatross of a contract, the Broncos are stuck with him in 2021 but Netane Muti will be nipping at his heels and his play could demand playing time in Year 2. The Broncos could easily convince themselves to kick Glasgow inside to center and plug Muti in at right guard next summer, which would land Cushenberry on the bench. 

That makes these final two games crucial for the rookie pivot because the Broncos really like him but there are forces outside his control that could sway the team brass. The only thing he can control is his own play and he'll have to do just that against the Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders to close out the season. 

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Pat Shurmur | OC

The Broncos really don't want to start over at offensive coordinator again. But Shurmur's offense this year has been statistically just as bad, if not worse, than some of the garbage shows that have predominated this team's post-Super Bowl 50 era. 

Shurmur was supposed to shepherd Lock into Year 2 and provide the schematic springboard to a quantum leap. Instead, Shurmur has presided over the regression of Lock. It's definitely not all Shurmur's fault, as far as Lock's play but the scheme has been head-scratchingly bad at times this year. 

Depending on which other coaches will be available in the 2021 hiring cycle, the Broncos could be dazzled by the right up-and-comer, like, say, a Kyle Shanahan protege, or a college guy — like Joe Brady at LSU last year getting hired in Carolina — the brass wouldn't want to pass on. It'd be one thing if Shurmur's offense was even middle-of-the-pack. 

But the Broncos are ranked No. 25 or below in almost every offensive category this year. Sorry, Pat. But the proof is in the pudding. Shurmur has to scheme and coach his rear end off these last two games. 

Shelby Harris | DL

Harris has already earned a bigger payday in 2021 than NFL teams were willing to give him this past spring. But missing a full quarter of the season due to COVID-19 completely sapped Harris' season of all its momentum. 

Whether he's auditioning for a long-term deal with the Broncos, or one of the 31 other teams, these last two games are big for Harris. If he closes out the year with two productive games in which he affected the passer, teams could be willing to back up the Brinks truck — including the Broncos. 

DeMarcus Walker | DL

Walker is two weeks away from being an unrestricted free agent. The former second-round pick out of Florida State has had a very up-and-down start to his NFL career and has landed in the doghouse of more than one Broncos defensive play-caller. 

But the man makes plays when he's on the field. That can't be denied. He just needs to be more consistent. If he closes out the year with two productive games, some team out there who liked him as a prospect in 2017 will be encouraged to pay him, even if it's a short-term deal. 

De'Vante Bausby | CB

Barring a Deion Sanders-esque performance in back-to-back games, Bausby's NFL future is unlikely to be in Denver. But there are other teams out there who will be looking for cornerback help, especially one with the ball skills and instincts of Bausby. 

He shined as a Bronco every time his number was called — up until recently when the coaches had no choice but to rely on him as the No. 1 corner. Suffice to say, Stefon Diggs hammered home the realization that Bausby is not No. 1-caliber but that doesn't make him NFL irrelevant. 

NFL teams need three viable corners nowadays and if Bausby goes out and ends his 2020 campaign with a couple of games featuring an interception and a few pass break-ups, some GM out there will want to throw a few bucks at him. 

Kareem Jackson | SS

Jackson will enter the final year of his contract in 2021. Although he's been solid this year, he has looked 32 years old for much of the season. He's still a physical presence in the box but Jackson has been late too often in coverage and hasn't affected the passing game the way he did last year. 

Box-only safeties aren't worth the $10 million base salary Jackson is set to earn next year. The Broncos could move on from him with a relatively low dead-cap hit of $2.8M. He'll be 33 next spring. In order to convince the Broncos he deserves that money, Jackson needs to show out vs. L.A. and Vegas and be the palpable difference-maker he was in Year 1 in the Orange and Blue. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.