Brocky Mountain High, Colorado.
The Denver Broncos are certainly on a high, and so is Brock Osweiler, after beating the Chicago Bears 17-15 at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon. It was Osweiler’s first NFL start and on his 25th birthday, to boot. What a birthday present, indeed.
Denver started on a high and never looked back. Their No. 1 defense in the NFL forced a three-and-out on the Bears first drive and then Brock Osweiler connected with Demaryius Thomas for a speedy 48-yard touchdown score. Chicago answered back with two straight field goals and the Broncos made their own field goal at the half’s final whistle for the 10-6 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, Denver went for it on 4th-and-1 from the two yard line, and didn’t get it when Ronnie Hillman tripped over Osweiler’s foot. The Bears turned around and marched down the field, but Bradley Roby disrupted a third and long and Robby Gould kicked his third field goal of the day for the 10-9 Broncos lead. Osweiler and the offense answered with a touchdown drive, capped with Cody Latimer‘s first score of his NFL career. That touchdown gave Denver the 17-9 lead with 11:42 left in the game and the Broncos defense forced Jay Cutler to fumble two drives later.
But, the Bears still had a chance with two minutes to play and Jeremy Langford ran in a touchdown to bring the game to 17-15. But the 2-point conversion failed when T.J. Ward tackled Langford behind the line of scrimmage for the win.
STARS OF THE GAME
Ronnie Hillman enjoyed a 100-yard game, with 21 carries for 102 yards and was part of the Broncos best rushing game of the season with 170 yards.
Demaryius Thomas is a star for his 48-yard highlight reel touchdown to start the game and Latimer deserves to be a start for his first NFL touchdown which was also the game-winner.
On the defensive side, T.J. Ward was a star due to his many huge hits, his playing Michael Bennett well and for his five tackles including the one on the Bears’ 2-point conversion.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Ward’s tackle to stop the 2-point conversion by Langford was the play of the game. Chicago was able to move the ball down the field thanks to multiple penalties – one a bad call on Bradley Roby – and score a touchdown when Langford ran it in. But on the 2-point conversion Ward came around the edge and tackled the running back to keep the Broncos ahead 17-15, the eventual final score.
TURNING POINT
The turning point came when Roby almost intercepted Cutler but instead knocked the ball away and forced Gould to his third field goal of the day instead of a touchdown for the lead. Denver held onto the 10-9 advantage and then pushed their lead to eight points when Latimer scored and held on to win 17-15.
BY THE NUMBERS
Denver enjoyed solid offensive balance, running for 170 yards and passing for 219 yards on the game.
While the Broncos won the game, they had eight penalties for 112 yards while the Bears were called for zero penalties.
Denver won the turnover battle 2-0, with Cutler throwing an interception and fumbling once.
LASTING IMPACT
This was a great victory for the Broncos for multiple reasons. First and foremost, it means the team bounced back to win after two straight losses. Denver reasserted themselves among the best teams in the AFC. It’s also key because it was the Broncos first win with Brock Osweiler under center. Denver knows now they can win with Osweiler at quarterback and they have the three-game lead on the AFC West.
WHAT’S NEXT
Next up for the Broncos (8-2) is the undefeated New England Patriots (9-0).
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