It took a stop on a two-point conversion with less than :30 seconds on the clock, but the Denver Broncos walked out of Solider Field with a 17-15 victory in Brock Osweiler’s first start in place of the injured Peyton Manning.
The Bears scored nine second-half points after trailing 10-6 at halftime, but it was a Cody Latimer touchdown and three different failed goal-line chances that decided the outcome of the game.
Both the Broncos and Bears went for touchdowns on fourth down in the second half and came up empty. First, Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman was tripped up by Osweiler on a fourth-and-one try from the two yard line that kept the Bears within a score at the time. Then, in the fourth quarter, John Fox went for the touchdown on a fourth-and-goal trailing 17-9. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was pressured and couldn’t find an open receiver.
Those failed opportunities were big plays, without a doubt, but they effectively canceled each other out. In the tie-breaking try, which would have tied the game for Chicago, Denver came out on top.
After Jeremy Langford took a two-yard draw up the gut to bring the Bears within two with less than :30 to play, John Fox put Cutler in the shotgun and tried to slip Langford into the exact same hole. T.J. Ward was waiting for him and the Broncos were just seconds away from securing their eighth win on the year and the first of Osweiler’s career.
Ward’s day had been a mixed bag up to that point. He was penalized for a late hit on Cutler earlier in the day that gave the Bears huge momentum on the drive that ultimately ended in that failed fourth-and-goal. But he’d also made some huge hits and several surprising plays in pass coverage. He came up big in the biggest moment, though, and Denver heads home with much-needed momentum and their sights set on the New England Patriots.
As always, the MHS team and our friends across the Denver media landscape were plugged in and offering instant reaction to that final play…
The defense holds when it mattered most…
Langford had nowhere to go … stuffed on the conversion try.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) November 22, 2015
John Fox and Adam Gase should know better than that. Run the ball against that front 4 of the #Broncos? Fool them once … not twice.
— Raul Martinez (@RaulNBCBoston) November 22, 2015
Wow… Broncos hold on two-point conversion.. Gase ran the ball. Wow… Langford stopped
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) November 22, 2015
Very odd play call. Broncos had been stuffing the run up the middle just about all day. So many options and they go up the middle. Huh?
— Les Shapiro (@LesShapiro) November 22, 2015
After a power run to come within 2 the #Bears run a draw in shotgun for the tie. Hilarious! I like the next #Broncos coaches better.
— Sam Cowhick (@SamCowhick) November 22, 2015
Broncos get the onside kick. Broncos will win… Brock's numbers are good. and no way Peyton comes back next week..
— Lionel Bienvenu (@lionelbienvenu) November 22, 2015
#Broncos win 17-15 in Brock Osweiler's 1st NFL start. Not a bad way to celebrate his 25th Birthday
— Arran Andersen (@arranandersen) November 22, 2015