5:50 P.M. CST: I can’t help but think of the words of Bill Murray, a noted Chicago sports fan, during one of the closing scenes of Tootsie after Dustin Hoffman’s character reveals himself after going in drag the entire movie: “That is one … nutty … hospital.” To paraphrase, this is one nutty game.
5:51 P.M. CST: Broncos continuing to move … now at the Denver 34.
5:52 P.M. CST: The security blanket is smothering the Bears … A great 41-yard reception by Tony Scheffler takes him to 68 yards on four catches … moves the Broncos to the Chicago 25.
5:53 P.M. CST: Timeout, Denver … 12:08 on the clock.
5:55 P.M. CST: Brandon Marshall still having some trouble with the footing … he slips while cutting upfield, but his seven-yard catch-and-run has the Broncos at the Chicago 14 for the first down.
5:57 P.M. CST: Unbelievable … both Mannings — Ricky Jr. and Danieal — were entangled with Scheffler as a Cutler pass came into the end zone … somehow, Scheffler makes the grab by using his body to snag the pass before the football hits the ground … touchdown, Broncos.
5:59 P.M. CST: Best news of all for the Broncos on the play? The fact that Lance Briggs kicked the football, good for an unsportsmanlike conduct foul that will allow Todd Sauerbrun to kick off from the Denver 45.
6 P.M. CST: Video boards here showing Devin Hester’s previous kickoff return to try and fire up the crowd.
6:02 P.M. CST: Hester standing in the back of the end zone … something tells me that unless this ball goes out of the end zone, No. 23 is running it back.
6:03 P.M. CST: And … Sauerbrun kicks it away from Hester and not to the end zone. Bears take over at their 28.
6:05 P.M. CST: Tim Crowder now has four sacks in three games … He slams into Rex Grossman as the quarterback steps forward and out of the pocket … Ian Gold recovers, and the exodus has begun with some spectators streaming down the aisles and to the exits.
6:06 P.M. CST: Well, that pitchout didn’t work … and Hall loses eight yards after getting the ball with Mark Anderson bearing down upon him … Hall is now back below 100 yards, at 96.
6:09 P.M. CST: After a three-and-out, the Broncos’ special-teams issues continue, as Todd Sauerbrun’s punt is blocked by Charles Tillman … Brandon McGowan is among a pack of Bears that eventually flag down the football back at the Denver 18 … The exodus in the stands stops, and the fans are on their feet.
6:11 P.M. CST: Bears now at the 4-yard-line after John Gilmore slips and falls after receiving a pass … Clock now under six minutes.
6:12 P.M. CST: Adrian Peterson was swarmed … but he powered through a high tide of Broncos, refusing to hit the ground and eventually moving the scrum into the end zone … touchdown, Bears … 5:17 left, and Denver’s lead is just 34-27.
6:16 P.M. CST: Broncos will take over at their 30.
6:18 P.M. CST: There’s one first down … Broncos now at their 42 … Clock about to go under four minutes.
6:19 P.M. CST: Not much room available on the ground right now … Broncos now have third-and-10 after both Andre Hall and Cecil Sapp can’t find much room … Bears have used two timeouts this series.
6:22 P.M. CST: Cutler playfaked to Cecil Sapp on third-and-10 … Jay Cutler was promptly sacked by Adewale Ogunleye … Clock continuing to run; Bears will conserve their remaining timeout … Denver calls timeout with 3:07 left; the Broncos are now out of timeouts.
6:24 P.M. CST: Hester had trouble fielding the punt … Chicago manages to recover with 2:58 left. Bears take over at their 35.
6:26 P.M. CST: Third-and-10 now … Grossman’s pass for Greg Olsen pass goes incomplete … Bears with one timeout and 2:42 left … They have to go for it, you’d reckon.
6:27 P.M. CST: Fourth down fails … but it doesn’t matter … illegal contact on Dre’ Bly for shoving Muhsin Muhammad … five yards and a first down … Bly was flagged for shoving Muhammad as he ran his route … potentially a killer penalty.
6:31 P.M. CST: Rashied Davis with the reception …2 1 yards and the Bears are at the 31 … Now inside the 20 after a pass to Muhammad … Clock is no longer a factor now … So the Bears run… Adrian Peterson runs to the 7-yard-line.
6:32 P.M. CST: Clock continuing to run … Bears now at the 3-yard-line … Chicago calls timeout with 36 seconds left … They are out of timeouts … Bears now in third-and-goal at the 3.
6:33 P.M. CST: Grossman for Bernard Berrian with Karl Paymah all over him … incomplete.
6:34 P.M. CST: Touchdown, bears … Berrian makes the grab in the right corner of the end zone … Berrian got the grab in front of Champ Bailey …. he got one knee down, but it looked as though his elbow was out of bounds. It’s being replayed.
6:37 P.M. CST: Touchdown. Soldier Field explodes. The Broncos have lost a 14-point lead in the final five minutes.
6:39 P.M. CST: Broncos get the ball at their 33 with 21 seconds left … They have no timeouts remaining.
6:40 P.M. CST: Cecil Sapp runs for 12 yards and a first down … Broncos spike it with four seconds remaining … False start … Ten-second clock runoff … overtime.
6:42 P.M. CST: Broncos call heads … and the toss comes up tails. Chicago will receive.
6:44 P.M. CST: A squibber — or “worm burner” as Dan Dierdorf repeatedly calls it — is returned by Devin Hester just four yards to the Chicago 24. Broncos desperately need a stop.
6:45 P.M. CST: Desmond Clark got behind the entire Denver defense … Chicago in field-goal range now with one play … at the Denver 37.
6:47 P.M. CST: Bears now at the Broncos 25, keeping it on the ground.
6:48 P.M. CST: Five-yard holding penalty on Alvin McKinley … Bears now at the Chicago 20 with a first down.
6:50 P.M. CST: Bears calling on Robbie Gould on second down … It will be a 39-yard attempt … it’s good; game over.
Tags: Chicago Bears
My Brothers and Sisters of our great Bronco Nation this season is officially dead. i.e. gone forget about it , the table was set, for us to make a playoff run and win our division. but the last 4 minutes of the bear game. I remember a game in 1995 when the bears where at Mile High and we won in squeaky manner but the team at the time was in a building dynasty mold. Now it seems we have the youth movement in hand Cutler gets better by the week. Now we need to chop some heads , we need a def. cooridinator, and a special teams coach. and a defensive pass rush, with the draft around the corner. IT IS TIME FOR DENVER TO MOVE COACH SHANNY TO THE TOP LIKE PRESIDENT OF TALENT OPERATIONS AND BRING IN A NEW COACH LIKE A BILL COWER, GUNTHER CUNNINGHAM, BILL B THE COACH FROM THE RAVENS, THE DEFENSE COORDINATOR OF LSU, SOMBODY THAT KNOWS HOW NOT TO KICK THE BALL TO HESTER.
LET’S MAKE SOME MOVES YOU PUPPET OF A OWNER BOWLEN. START TOMMOROW. SEE YA NEXT WEEK BROTHERS AND SISTERS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO A LOT OF NOTHING.
SOMBODY THAT KNOWS SPECIAL TEAMS AND DEFENSE WIN
Good news Saurbaun just recived today worst person award on nbc Monday night football halftime show well deserved.
Anybody see who Keith Olbermann picked as the worst person in the NFL? It was big mouth TODD SAUERBRUN!!! HAHAHAHA They said that all week Todd talked about kicking it to Hester and how he wasnt worried. Well I bet he feels stupid. On national tv they were asking if he is abusing the substance abuse policy because all the crap he said! You should hear how NBC was ragging on Todd about how he just fell down and how maybe a gust of wind blew him over before Hester got to him. They showed him just falling down a couple of times by some phantom blocker. He is a disgrace. I am watching the eagles game and I see David Acres making tackles and Todd is way bigger than him. I honestly think he is waste of space on our roster we need to bring in a punter who will put it on the line for his team. TODD SAUERBRUN STAY IN CHICAGO YOU BUM!!!!!!!
sorry the web address to vote on the refs for todays game is badzebras.com
Isnt it pretty sad when a punter/kicker throws the game away? They are a dime a dozen except of course Jason Elam Baby! But you Sauerbrun will be jobless come the end of the season you are HORRIBLE and WORTHLESS!!!
This loss hurts a lot. After tonight we dont deserve to go to the playoffs. This game was ours and it was pissed away. Todd you big dummy if you kick the ball to Hester once and he scored a TD dont do the same damn thing again. Kick it out of bounds.
glug
…hic
Pretty sure I just about stabbed a chick walking behind me when Gould’s kick went through, not realizing she was standing behind me as I stood nervously at the bar chewing on my chopsticks while my food went cold a few feet behind at my table where the TV was hidden from. My chopsticks hit her sleave but not her as I stormed off to wall, which I introduced to my head.
I’m wearing black for a month in mourning.
Hey, a few weeks ago I was saying the same things and a lot of you came after me. Sourpunt you f—-ng AHOLE. MORON SOB. GTFO from Denver you idiotic steroid abuser. Special teams suck and the defense is worst. They always play the run and get beat deep because they cannot put pressure on the QB and the safeties always play close to the line. OMG Shanny decides to throw deep to Marshall and look what happens. You should be doing this at least 5 times a game Einstein! Fudge the zebras too! Their horrible officiating together with our stupidity gave the Bears the game. Stokley catches the ball but they do not want to look bad two times in a row in 2 challenges so they do not overturn the call. It is so dissapointing to lose this way and waste a great effort from all the young guys. This is a learning season and I hope that we learn from it. Heads need to roll.
MAN! Can Shanahan call a worse game than that? Seriously! Damn, and we had almost swallowed the Kool Aid…well not really. Cutler can’t save you Shanny! Retire!
uhhh, are the Denver reporters ever going to start ask more challenging questions to Mike, or are they scared for some reason?
So we use “prevent” defense which EVERYONE HATES because it NEVER WORKS and we kick to Hester more than once? DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY’RE DOING IN BRONCO LAND?
To everybody questionning Mike’s coaching , report to the raiders _chiefs game ans edwards decision to go for it on 4th down at the opposite 23 instead of trying the game tying FG , had it be missed , there was time enough for a defensive stop and another chance !!! we are lucky to have Mike , look what he has done this year : we’re still in contention where many other team would have been 2-9 in a rebuilding year .We can still win the division , we face the hated raiders next , the chiefs and the chargers , provided we win those 3 and lose no more than one against houston and Vikings , the division is ours .it won’t be easy but this team is clearly not the same than the one in september and october . Yesterday , special teams killed us , throw away the 2 returns and it’s an easy win : tell me the name of the team who can afford 2 return for TD , a punt block and still have the lead whith few minutes to go ???A goood team , this was not a perfect outing in many ways but theres many reasons to believe , whith all the injuries ( as i predicted Javon was a non factor in this game ), we’re still there thanks in a large part to the coaching staff , Mike the first .
That’s the point though France, those things SHOULDN’T HAPPEN to “good coaches”. That’s 2 blocks this year, 3 returns for td’s…they simply aren’t well coached. The defense is easy enough to figure out as well. Cutler is growing, too bad Shanny can’t grow with him.
I have to admit it : Shanny is not and has never been a special team mastermind , he need to be supported in this aera .
Mike has never been more than a great offensive coordinator. He absolutely requires a strong defensive coach and if his offensive players aren’t minute-rice perfect he can’t get past a first round. The thing about the Broncos is that under Mike, they rarely win ugly. Get the picture?
If you want to challenge Hester, fine. But he proved after his first TD that, well, okay, he was up to the challenge. At that point it was time to leave him alone and start squibbing. Shanahan is the final say on that, not the special teams coach, not the kickers…Shanahan.
There was a double whammy of “ooh, we got a little overexcited” yesterday…the friggin’ Raiders marched into Arrowhead and broke that ridiculous AFC West losing streak. Tennessee got destroyed and held to 2 FG against Cincinnati? Hmm…how bad IS this Broncos team? We’ll find out soon enough, the only game that’s SUPPOSED to be rough is the road game in San Diego. The other games should be a walk…like this one was supposed to be.
Or not. How many “great” losses are Cutler and “insert-RB-here” going to get because of the coaches and D? Is this going to be the norm? Are the swiss cheese defense, poor special teams, and late game play calling going to continue? Recent history gives an answer most Denver fans won’t want to hear.
And for more fuel to the fire, regardless of coach, teammates or cheerleaders around him, Jay still fails to move to a winning record in Pro Football.
7wins and 9losses now.
I like the kid, I want him to be good, but I just can’t be convinced that he’s a winner. College 11wins 35losses, and now his pro career is headed in the same direction. Maybe it was Vanderbelt, maybe it’s Shanahan, and if it is Shanahan ruining his chances then get rid of him NOW!
lpp if you like jay act like it instead of being against his abilities he has unlimitied abilities and a great attitude . give him time the season is not over . go broncos 1!!
LPP he played at VANDY, NO ONE wins at VANDY! As for his NFL record, how many wins does the kid have where he wasn’t asked to come back in the 4th quarter? Get over yourself and your man crush. Shanny is screwing up big time, I think we all agree on that.
how do we lose a game like that, offense produced the points we needed but the D just handed the game to the bears. What was up with Sauerbrun? kicks right to Hester or just sends the ball tumbling downfield WTF? how do we get consistency here? we need a defense that can do the job not just take the paycheck (unbeatable corners???), not much good scoring 34 points when the D rolls over and allows 37. Next week the Raiders maybe the D can hold them to less than 40 points
Ok, i joined this blog so i can comment about the Broncos, but honestly i’m sick and tired of a pack of bandwagon, just plain stupid fans. I was at the Titans game and behind me were a few idiots jabbering about how Shanny needs to go because the two timeouts that he called which cost us 10 points. And then i read on here about people wanting to fire Shanny for this loss.
Here is my response… YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS!! Who will we get? Cower? yeah right, he was a GOD in Pittsburg, why would he come here and have to rebuild everything? Plus, how LONG did it take him to build the steelers? I seem to remember a bad experiment called Cordell Stewart? So who else? OH.. how about Marty? then we can have an awesome season record and never win the big game? No… how about an unknown? Well that hasn’t worked out for Al Davis.. why would it work here? Even if it did, 2-5 years before they’re good again. Lets review what Shanny has brought to Denver (besides the 2 bowls)…
Zone Blocking – Naw, that wasn’t worth it.
T. D. – Yeah, that wasn’t a good move.
Eddie Mac – naw we didn’t need a good receiver
Sharpe – Lost him, got him back (rectified a boo-boo in letting him go.)
Plummer – Did good, shot himself in the foot, Arizona ruined him
Portis – wasn’t good, got good, got traded, we got Champ… that worked out
Walker – Naw, bad idea.
Sheffler – maybe the best unknown TE in the league…
the Brandons – naw, we didn’t need em.
Cutler – Worked a few deals and got him, so far so good.
There are a laundry list of things Shanny has done since he’s come to Denver. All the fair weather fans out there have NO idea what is out there and couldn’t make any better decisions if they were in the same position.
Who do you get to run a defense KNOWING that they are going to be a D Coordinator for a LONG time, if NEVER get to be a head coach, because of what Shanny has done? Answer me that.
Plus, if we got someone else, everyone saying “FIRE SHANAHAN” would be saying “FIRE SO AND SO” after a losing season anyway, so your opinion… counts for about nothing in my book, Shut up and just enjoy the game for crying out loud.
He’s the “franchise qb”! Of course he is “asked” to come back in the 4th quarter. That’s his job, if the team is in the position of being down at the end. And who have we had these “amazing” comebacks against so far? The Bills? The Raiders? We should never have been down to either of those teams in the 4th in the first place!
scanartist, your opinion is just as valid as all of ours, pal, so more power to you. However, if I may at least mildly rebut… the first four “Pros” you reviewed all get lumped into the two Super Bowls. Seriously, none of those four things had any real impact after the 1998 season ended. Zone blocking? You mean where the RB gets 100 yards a game and the quarterback has to duck and cover 75% of the time when the line gets overpowered?
After that, none of the moves listed were anything special except the Bailey trade (and it’s more 60-40 than anything else since we haven’t had a true franchise back since Portis left, just plug-ins with a good rush line.)
You subsequently listed: acquiring a veteran QB, drafting a young QB, acquiring an underrated TE, acquiring receivers (a borderline #1 with knee and attitude issues in his past and two solid but unspectacular possession WRs) and act like it’s anything different than what about 10-15 other teams have done with the same result. Just to be a d**k, I’ll cite the the Raiders: acquired Gannon (veteran QB,) drafted Russell (young QB,) drafted Zach Miller (there’s your TE, he ain’t bad,) and from Rice to Moss to Porter to Gabriel to Curry, have always found WRs even when their QBs and O-Line sucked (sound familiar?) The only difference (21st Century Super Bowl appearance aside…) is that while crappy Oakland rotates out their staff and regularly dissapoints, our beloved Denver regularly dissapoints with THE SAME COACH over and over…AND NO ONE BLAMES HIM? WHAT OTHER CITY BABIES ITS COACH LIKE THAT TEN YEARS AFTER THEIR LAST REAL GLORY?
Maybe we won’t find someone better on the first try, but we are at least three years away from really challenging for a title without a Terrell Davis-esque miracle dropping into our laps again. If you feel like sitting thru another 3 years of the treadmill and watching 1998 grow smaller and smaller behind you, be my guest. I’d rather they took a chance at a major turnaround than stayed the course with a slow swim upstream. Shanahan has never won without All-Pro talent, and how much All-Pro talent he’s had directly relates to how far his teams have gone. He’s not going to turn a bunch of “who dats?” into a juggernaut like the Patriots were a few years back (NOW NE has real names.)
Shanahan needs STARS and he’s never made STARS, STARS have made HIM. He’s not the only great coach who needs them, mind you, but Elway, Sharpe, and Davis aren’t around to overwhelm teams anymore even when they’ve figured out the schemes. Shanahan actually has had to COACH for the last ten years and look…he had his time. But it’s not working now. Landry, Ditka, Noll, Shula…eventually a “legendary coach” degrades into just a “coach” over time.
Well said Hoss, Denver fans have settled for average football teams for far too long. Remember the fuss when Reeves was shown the door? All good things must come to an end. Shanny has enjoyed a long run, but MY GOD this team is flat AWFUL this year. And you’re right, if you lose in Denver you should be fired. Denver sells out becuase Mile High fans EXPECT to see GREAT football. I wait 12 hours before I fire off to cool down, there’s no more cooling down. Shanahan has hand picked every player, coach etc. Time to smell what the rest of us do.
go broncos
ow my head
Shanahan is not a bad coach. He just needs to grow a pair. I’m sick of watching him pull the carpet out from under the offense as soon as he gets a two-possession lead. He doesn’t have a reliable defense that is able to hold a lead. He needs to take a page out of the Belichick playbook and play aggressive regardless of the score.
His MO used to be getting ahead early and make the other team play catch-up. Our secondary has been exposed for what it is (over hyped) and now everyone knows they can come back, especially when the offense gets one-dimensional. This defense doesn’t have the heart to get beat on one possession, watch the offense go three and out come back in and stop the opposition. Good defenses may be able to do that but ours just can’t. And if Sam Adams is too fat to practice on Wednesdays how is he expected to play four quarters of football.
I’m not a Shanny basher, basically thinking that he’s still capable of winning the big one, and better than most of the coaches we could bring in to replace him. He still does make some great play calls–the use of the option as an example.
HOWEVER, could someone explain to me why when the offense is inside the opponent’s 5 yard line he consistently sends out a two-tight end set, and tries at least one off-tackle run that loses yardage? This offensive line IS NOT CAPABLE of overpowering a defensive line that is playing the run on their own goalline, and I’m not sure what he expects to change.
I know it runs counter to his conservative streak, but we should be spreading the defense out with Cutler in the gun and a 3- or 4-receiver set (if we even HAVE 4 receivers, Taylor Jacobs, anyone?). Let the young gun stick the ball into D Graham’s chest before the blitzers can get to him. And if Shanny’s determined to run the ball, he can still hand it off on a draw play where there will be some lanes for our backs instead of a wall of the wrong color jerseys. Mase, could you whisper in his ear, please?
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