Recap: Broncos 17, Bears 15
The Denver Broncos stayed true to form and won another nail-biter in Chicago on Sunday.
Brock Osweiler took his first snaps as a regular-season starting quarterback and the team snapped a two-game losing streak against a surging, John Fox-led Bears team. The dramatic 17-15 win came with great performances and late-game drama that fans have grown accustomed to.
Here are a few moments and players who had the biggest impact on the team’s eighth win of the year and what they had to say after the game:
Best quote of the game
Head coach Gary Kubiak on his message to the team following the game:
“What we needed to do was go play clean football as a team. We’ve had many turnovers … hurting ourselves and the message this week was let’s protect the football and play. We’ll play great defense. We’re consistent in what we’re doing there. And let’s not hurt ourselves as a team. I think that’s what we ultimately did. We ran the ball well, we moved the ball well, we could have obviously scored some more points in some situations. But I think it got down to playing good defense and protecting the football. That’s a good combination in this league – if you’re able to do those things then you give yourself a chance every week.”
Von Miller on snapping the two-game losing streak:
“Winning tastes great. Nothing tastes like it.”
Play of the game
The biggest moment of the game came early. On the Broncos’ fourth play from scrimmage, Osweiler found Demaryius Thomas over the middle of the field, wide open. The giant receiver proceeded to stiff-arm a defender and streak down the right sideline. He beat another Bears defender to the pylon for a 48-yard touchdown and the early lead.
“At any time when you can start a football game like we did with the first drive it’s huge. It gives you some momentum on the road which is key. It kind of takes the crowd out of the game. That’s something that our offensive staff preaches, starting games fast. That was something that we were able to do today,” Osweiler said of the early touchdown.
There were plenty of big plays in the game, but the touchdown to Thomas not only gave the Broncos a lead that they would not relinquish the entire game, but it also gave Osweiler the cushion he needed in order to deal with the pressure of his first start in the NFL.
Honorable mention:
If the first score of the game was the best of the day, a close second was the Bears final offensive play of the game. With just :29 left in the game, the Bears trailed 17-15 and needed a two-point conversion to tie the contest. Cutler lined up in shotgun with Jeremy Langford to his right. Just one play after they ran the ball in for a touchdown in a power formation the Bears attempted to tie the game on a shotgun draw to Langford. Several Broncos were in on the gang tackle, stopping the Bears short and consequently winning the game.
Offensive MVP
Brock Osweiler surely earned the MVP honors Sunday. He completed 20 of 27 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. He was accurate and took very few risks in his first start of his career. Several other players aided his performance but under the circumstances, he played smart and efficient football.
“He did a really good job. We didn’t protect him very good in the first half, [he] had to take his lumps in a couple situations but kept his composure and would come back and make the next play. He did his job, did a heck of a job and his team played well around him and that’s the most important thing. Very proud of him, he was ready to go,” Kubiak said of his first-time starter.
His 127.1 passer rating is more than 25 points higher than any performance of Manning’s this season. Secondly, the offense did not turn the ball over for the first time this season, in large part because of Osweiler’s performance. Despite being sacked five times, he never seemed rattled and the run game kept the Bears off-balance enough to keep them guessing.
Honorable mentions: Ronnie Hillman ran with purpose and elusiveness Sunday and helped keep the offense balanced. He carried the ball 21 times for 102 yards on the day. Vernon Davis also had a breakout day. In his third game with the team he caught a team-high six passes for 68 receiving yards, one yard shy of fellow tight end Owen Daniels‘ team high 69 receiving yards.
Defensive MVP
Danny Trevathan continues to improve after sitting out nearly all of last season due to injury. Each week he seems to perform better and better. Sunday was no different. He was seen all over the field, stuffing the run, getting pressure and eventually grabbing the Broncos first turnover in three games.
Up by only four points with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, following two Broncos punts, Cutler was looking to take the lead. Following a first down he looked over the middle to Marquess Wilson. He failed to see Trevathan dropping deep into pass coverage. He intercepted Cutler’s pass and returned it to the Bears 25 yard line.
“We had a good shot. We had [Wilson] going down the middle. I probably need to put it a little bit higher,” Jay Cutler said in reference to Trevathan’s interception. “The linebacker undercut it. He made a good play, but I can give him a better ball though.”
Trevathan finished the game with eight tackles, seven solo, a pass defended and an interception. His speed, paired with his physical nature despite his smaller size for an inside linebacker, has turned him into a vital piece of the defense.
Honorable mention: Von Miller caused the second turnover of the day and it came at a critical moment in the game. Miller rushed the edge, got around the left tackle to strip Cutler of the ball as he looked to throw downfield. The turnover happened with just 2:30 left in the game and put immense pressure on the Bears for the remainder of the game. He finished the game with three tackles, one sack, a quarterback hit and a forced fumble. His constant pressures around the edge are hard to quantify as well, but undoubtedly had Cutler nervous in the pocket.
Best statistics
The Broncos offense was not only balanced (29 passes, 34 rush) Sunday, they were efficient on critical third downs. They entered the game averaging only 89 yards rushing per game but ran for 170 yards against the Bears. Equally as impressive was their 10 percent increase on 3rd down percentage. Entering Sunday they averaged only 33.1 percent and went 6-of-14 (43 percent) at Soldier Field.
The defense played exceptionally well when it counted and, outside of their penalties, held the Bears offense in check. Big pass plays and penalties handed the Bears four red zone opportunities and the Broncos allowed only one touchdown.
“I don’t think people really understand how big a difference a field goal and a touchdown is in a game. It’s a huge difference,” T.J. Ward said of the Broncos’ red zone defense. “If you can hold them to field goals even if you’re coming off a turnover, that’s what you’ve got to do.”
The Broncos also held the Bears, who ranked 14th in rushing yards per game (114.6) to 86 yards. Only 57 of those yards came from the Bears running backs for an average of 2.59 yards per carry. Three scrambles by Cutler made it look better than it appeared for the Bears.
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