Denver Broncos vs Chicago Bears Match Player Stats On Nov 22, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Nov 22, 2015

CHICAGO — Brock Osweiler made it look easy in his first NFL start with two touchdown passes Sunday to lead the Denver Broncos to a 17-15 victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

The win ended a two-game losing streak for Denver.

Osweiler, on his 25th birthday, completed 20 of 27 passes for 250 yards and recorded a passer rating of 127.1. Injured Peyton Manning, the ertswhile Denver starter, did not make the trip to Chicago.

The Bears had three chances in the fourth quarter to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion, but failed on all three.

First, from second-and-goal at the Denver 4-yard line, Jay Cutler threw three consecutive incomplete passes. Since there was still more than 10 minutes remaining in an eight-point game, it seemed a strange decision that the Bears did not attempt a field goal there.

Later, after a drive that reached the Denver 33, Cutler was hit as he threw a pass and the ball fluttered into the arms of Broncos defensive end Malik Jackson.

Finally, with 24 seconds remaining, Jeremy Langford capped a 65-yard drive by running in for a touchdown from the two-yard line. The Bears called another Langford run for the two-point conversion, however, and it was stopped.

Osweiler made it look easy, particularly at the start.

He drove the Broncos 74 yards in four plays for a touchdown on their first possession, finding a wide-open Demaryius Thomas for 48 yards and the score on his second pass. It was the longest completion of Osweiler's four-year career, previously all spent as Manning's backup.

The Bears, with Jay Cutler scrambling to buy time before hitting Marquess Wilson for 29 yards, came back with a field goal on their next possession. Robbie Gould connected from 46 yards to cut Denver's lead to 7-3.

A 38-yard completion from Cutler to Joshua Bellamy on Chicago's next possession set up another Gould field goal, a 37-yarder, that made the score 7-6 midway through the second quarter.

But in the closing minutes of the half, Osweiler completed eight consecutive short passes on an 82-yard drive that ended with Brandon McManus kicking a 24-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

Gould kicked his third field goal late in the third quarter after the Broncos failed to take advantage of great field position following an interception thrown by Cutler. Denver was set up at the Chicago 25-yard line and eventually drove inside the 2-yard line but opted to try for a touchdown rather than a field goal that would have opened a seven-point lead.

The attempt, a run by Ronnie Hillman, was stopped, and the Bears then drove 79 yards before settling for another kick by Gould.

With the Broncos ahead, 10-9, they got the clinching touchdown on a 71-yard drive that ended on a third down, 10-yard pass from Osweiler to Cody Latimer.

NOTES: Chicago, also short at the position, lost running back Ka'Deem Carey for the game with a concussion after a third-quarter hit . . . The Bears played the entire game without running back Matt Forte (knee) for the third consecutive game and without wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (groin, shoulder) who returned from his injuries earlier in the season but now has missed five games this year . . . The Broncos missed linebacker DeMarcus Ware (back), out for the second consecutive game. Ware, who averaged 12.7 sacks a year for his previous 10 NFL seasons, leads the team with 6 1/2 sacks . . . Osweiler was the 44th starting quarterback in the Broncos' history but only the 14th among the 44 who were drafted by Denver.