Rejoice, Denver Broncos fans.

In the midst of a chaotic fight between the relatives of legendary team owner Pat Bowlen for control of the club, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The light has a name, and it’s Drew Lock, a second-round draft pick who just ended his rookie year by winning four of his last five starts.

The Broncos’ difference in energy with Lock on the field (as opposed to Joe Flacco or Brandon Allen) has been significant, and as such, the first item in this week’s “Things I Noticed” is how much Lock’s teammates seem to like him.

View photos The Broncos might not have to look further for Denver's QB of the future. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) More

Following the Broncos’ 16-15 win over the Raiders on Sunday, numerous Broncos spoke out in positive terms about Lock, who not only went viral for rapping along to a Young Jeezy song during Sunday’s game, but also impressed by completing 64.1 percent of his passes for 1,020 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions in five starts.

“We’ve got a quarterback now that I feel confident in that we can get it done,” cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said.

“To see these guys’ smile on their faces after wins and stuff like that, and to see Drew coming in and bring energy to all those guys and just do what it took, it was cool to see,” edge rusher Bradley Chubb said.

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Lock, 23, helps complete one of the best young quartets of young, offensive skill players in the NFL. Between Lock, 1,000-yard running back Phillip Lindsay (25), 1,000-yard receiver Courtland Sutton (25) and 22-year-old Noah Fant (who led all rookie tight ends in catches and yards), the Broncos have the makings of a dangerous offense for years to come, provided Lock continues to progress.

“He’s going to be good for a long time,” Lindsay told Yahoo Sports, following the Broncos’ 23-3 loss to the Chiefs in mid-December. “We have to take butt whuppings, and when you’re a young team — a bunch of babies against grown men that have been here for five or seven years — you’ve got to adjust. We’re just not on an established team right now; we just have to go with the flow of things and get better.”

New England needs Tom Brady’s downfield magic

If you needed an indication that the Patriots won’t be defending their Super Bowl title, Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins is as good a signal as any. It was that much of a stunner to see Bill Belichick’s Patriots lose at home, in December, to a divisional opponent in a game they needed for playoff seeding.

While the Patriots’ lack of a consistent deep-ball threat remains a concern, I did appreciate the fact Tom Brady threw lots of intermediate passes Sunday to players not named Julian Edelman and James White, which will be a key for them in the playoffs.

If New England is going to turn its mid-grade offense around, Brady will need to develop some quick chemistry with the likes of Phillip Dorsey, Mo Sanu and N’Keal Harry, starting in the wild-card game Saturday night against a Tennessee Titans defense that excels at muddying its coverages.

Shoutout to the Dolphins and coach Brian Flores. Remember, the Dolphins were supposed to tank this past season as they traded some premium pieces of the 2019 roster for draft capital. But Flores has been too good at his job to maximize the strategy.

His players competed their asses off for him, his blitz schemes and indecipherable defensive personnel packages have been a blast to watch and some young offensive skill players (DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki) have improved. Throw in their 14 draft picks in 2020, and they’re easily a team on the rise.

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