By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer
With all eyes focused on 
But while Bradford’s performance left everyone buzzing, there was another rookie quarterback making a splash in New England.
After getting very little work in the first two preseason contests,
And just when Lewis was finishing up his closing arguments for the night, a cold as ice
“That’s another good battle going on,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “We’re going to need another game to let it play out. I thought Thad did a nice job to help himself last night and, wow, I mean for Keith to stand on the side line for three quarters and then go out there and execute a two-minute, I thought that was outstanding. ”
Lewis’ efforts might have gone overlooked considering Bradford’s performance but it made it no less impressive.
After getting almost no game repetitions in the first two preseason contests, Lewis found himself idling on the sidelines in hopes of an opportunity to prove himself and thrust his way into the mix for a roster spot.
Instead of getting frustrated, Lewis took every chance he could to get what he calls a “mental rep.” So when a play would go in, he’d be on the sidelines going through it in his head as though he was on the field.
Leading up to the New England game, Lewis was told he’d be the first quarterback to come in when Bradford’s night was done. That helped him get his mind right for the heavier workload to come.
“(I was) just waiting patiently,” Lewis said. “Once you get the opportunity you have got to be ready so you can’t be too overanxious and then when you do get your opportunity you forget everything so I was patient but to know I was going to be the second quarterback going in early in the week pretty much helped me prepare myself going into that game.”
Lewis certainly looked relaxed coming out of the locker room. With New England’s top defense still in the game, Lewis called the signals on a 15-play, 76-yard drive that ate up nine minutes and 19 seconds.
Along the way, Lewis completed five-of-six passes for 42 yards, scrambled once for 9 yards and capped it all with a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver
And for as impressive as that drive was, perhaps nothing boded better for Lewis than how he responded to the interception he threw that led to New England taking a 35-27 lead.
Lewis promptly took the Rams on an 11-play, 73-yard drive that ended in a
“Playing this game for all these years at the quarterback position, things like that are going to happen,” Lewis said. “It’s your character and how you respond to it. I had to pull myself together, pull the offense together and we had to drive and respond. You have to take accountability when you do something like that and throw an interception now and then. I felt like I bounced back and helped my team take it down and get another score so I felt good about that, how I responded from the interception. You can’t get down. You have to have a short term memory at this position.”
All told, Lewis finished 11-of-14 for 120 yards with a touchdown and an interception for a rating of 96.4. In his time so far this preseason; he’s 16-of-20 for 166 yards with the touchdown and interception for a rating of 97.1.
“Every day it’s a fight so you never know,” Lewis said. “I just felt like I got better out there and did some good things. Hopefully I did help myself but you never know in these situations. You have just got to go out there and play to the best of your ability any time you get an opportunity.”
In addition to his success passing, Lewis has also showed a propensity for making plays with his feet, escaping pressure and getting out of the pocket when necessary.
“The other thing I thought he did a nice job was he kept plays extended with his feet,” Spagnuolo said. “He scrambled one time I believe, and there was one time where he got out of trouble and he dumped the ball off which shows me he’s got vision downfield even when he’s getting out of trouble.”
The plan for Thursday’s game against the Ravens is for Bradford to play a series or two with the starters before giving way to what will almost certainly be a mixture of Lewis and Null.
No decision has been made for that third quarterback spot and there’s no question that the final preseason game is often a great opportunity for Lewis and Null to make their final testimony.
“It’s another opportunity,” Lewis said. “Look at the mistakes you made the week before and make sure you don’t make those same mistakes going out there. It’s an opportunity to get better.”
For his part, Null is 10-of-27 for 101 yards for a rating of 48.5 in this preseason. But he comes armed with starting experience in the league and a more extensive knowledge of the system.
All of those things including Null’s experience and Lewis’ escapability will be taken into consideration in the final decision of Spagnuolo and the Rams. Of course, so too will the way they perform in the finale against Baltimore.
Regardless of how it all pans out, Lewis says he’s not concerning himself with the decision so much as what he can do to affect it.
“Oh no, not at all,” Lewis said. “The only thing you can do is worry about yourself and worry about the things you can control. I can’t control what Keith, Sam or A.J. (Feeley) do. I can control what Thaddeus does so that’s the way I kind of look at it.”
