Bears’ Heads Hang Low in Mile-high City

For the first three quarters of the game, and majority of the fourth quarter, all three phases were on one accord, and the Chicago Bears were on their way to a victory with a 10-0 lead. Then everything fell apart, and as a result, the Bears found themselves defeated at the hands of the Denver Broncos by the overtime score of 13-10. This is the third loss by the Bears (7-6) in the last three weeks.

While Chicago’s offense played very conservative, the defense was dominant for the majority of the game, holding the Broncos (8-5) scoreless in their first 12 drives of the game. However, the Bears went away from what kept Denver out of the end zone late in fourth quarter and let them score on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow to Demaryius Thomas with 2:08 remaining in regulation.

On the ensuing drive, Chicago running back Marion Barber made one of the biggest mistakes seen by the league this season. After Denver burned their final timeout, Barber ran out of bounds after gaining five yards on second down, stopping the clock at 1:55. The Bears couldn’t make a first down and was forced to punt. This absent-minded move eventually gave the Broncos enough time to score a game-tying 59-yard Matt Prater field goal, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra period, quarterback Caleb Hanie led the offense down the field into Denver territory, only for Barber to fumble the ball and for it to be recovered by the Broncos’ Elvis Dumervil.

Denver’s offense then followed the lead of Tebow, and as a result won the game on a 51-yard Prater field goal.

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Chicago’s safe play-calling on the offensive side of the ball was probably too conservative. Although Hanie didn’t turn the ball over, he finished with a modest 115 yards passing and no touchdowns, connecting on 12 of his 19 pass attempts.

Even though the two mistakes by Barber are magnified, he did finish with 108 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown (all game-highs).

Although Hanie eliminated the turnovers in this game, it still doesn’t hide the fact that the offense as a whole was still unproductive. The Bears had trouble on third downs, converting on only two out of 15, and gave up four sacks.

The defense once again did everything they could to keep the Bears in the game. During this three-game losing streak, Chicago has given up only one touchdown in each of the past three games.

Chicago got to Tebow, sacking him five times, and forcing the Denver quarterback to commit two turnovers—one being an interception by cornerback Charles Tillman and the other a forced fumble by safety Craig Steltz that was recovered by defensive end Israel Idonije.

Tebow was held in check by the Bears for the first three quarters, only mustering up 45 passing yards, but took advantage of Chicago’s defensive adjustment late in the game and completed 18 of 24 pass attempts for 191 and a touchdown in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Even the field goal that the Bears blocked in the second quarter seemed to be in vain.

With arguably the most disappointing loss of the season, the Chicago Bears now find themselves on the outside looking in on the playoff picture, thanks to victories by the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, and the New York Giants this week. The Bears are still in the hunt for a wildcard spot, but will have to win out the remainder of their schedule, and hope for a little help within the NFC.

There is absolutely no room for error on Chicago’s part. From now on, the Bears will have to face every game as if they are in the playoffs, because one more loss could potentially mean that their season is over.

By Clyde Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent