Broncos push lead to 10-0With 3:24 remaining in the second quarter, the Broncos have made it 10-0 on a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Lance Ball, capping a seven-play, 57-yard drive that took 4:23.
Denver began the drive on its own 43-yard line and needed seven plays to find pay dirt. The biggest gain of the series came on a 20-yard completion from quarterback Caleb Hanie to tight end Cornelius Ingram. Hanie went 3-for-3 on the drive for 32 yards passing.
Miller’s Fumble Recovery Leads to Field GoalThe Broncos took over inside the Chicago red zone after a fumble by Bears running back Michael Bush was recovered by linebacker Von Miller.
Miller returned the fumble 16 yards to the Chicago 6-yard line.
As the Broncos’ offense took the field, quarterback Caleb Hanie joined the huddle, meaning the end of Peyton Manning’s day.
Manning finished 4-of-7 for 44 yards and an interception.
The Broncos took advantage of the turnover with a 28-yard field goal by Matt Prater that made the score 3-0 in favor of Denver.
Manning Leads First DriveAfter the Broncos won the toss to start Thursday’s preseason opener at Chicago, quarterback Peyton Manning took the field to start his first drive as a Bronco at the Denver 38-yard line.
After throwing an incompletion on his first play, Manning went 4-of-6, including a 12-yard pass to Jacob Tamme for his first completion of the game.
Manning then hit Eric Decker for a 10-yard pickup and Lance Ball for 3 yards.
Facing a third-and-17, Manning found Decker again for a 19-yard gain into the Bears’ red zone.
That’s where the drive ended, however as a Manning pass intended for Brandon Stokley was deflected into the air and intercepted by Major Wright for the Bears.
On the team’s next drive, Caleb Hanie replaced Manning at quarterback, so Manning finishes the day 4-of-7 for 44 yards in his preseason debut.
Coin Toss, Captains and StartersThe Broncos chose tails on the coin toss and won. The visitors have elected to receive the football, which means quarterback Peyton Manning’s first series as a Broncos is just moments away.
Denver’s captains for tonight’s game are cornerback Champ Bailey, offensive tackle Ryan Clady, defensive end Elvis Dumervil, punter Britton Colquitt and quarterbacks Caleb Hanie and Peyton Manning.
The Broncos’ starters this evening on the offensive line are Ryan Clady at left tackle, Zane Beadles at left guard, J.D. Walton at center, Manny Ramirez at right guard and Orlando Franklin at right tackle. The starters at the skill positions are Willis McGahee at runnning back, Peyton Manning at quarterback, Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas at the wide receiver positions and Joel Dreessen and Jacob Tamme at tight end.
Check back for the defensive starters.
Broncos at Bears Roster UpdateThough there are no official inactives for preseason games, a few Broncos players are not expected to take part in tonight’s game. Those players are:
#97 DT Justin Bannan
#57 LB Keith Brooking
#28 S Quinton Carter
#13 WR Tyler Grisham
#73 G Chris Kuper
#45 S Jim Leonhard
#89 WR Greg Orton
It is expected that Mitch Unrein will be starting for Justin Bannan at defensive tackle, Mike Adams for Quinton Carter at safety and Manny Ramirez for Chris Kuper at right guard.
Lightning Clears FieldDue to inclement weather, the players for both teams have left the field. The players were in the midst of pregame warmups before thunder and lightning moved into the area.
At this time, the game is still scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CDT.
Stay tuned for further updates.
UPDATE: The fans are returning to their seats and the players are taking the field.
Ready for Soldier FieldAs Broncos players began their trip from the team hotel to Soldier Field, they took to social media to voice their excitement for tonight’s game.
Below are tweets from players leading up to Thursday’s game. To watch the game live online in high definition, click here.
Fans can also follow the action on Twitter via the Broncos’ official gameday account, @BroncosGameday.
Lance Ball (@LanceBall35) - Time to put some work in! #Blessed for another opportunity to show what I got. #letswork #bronconation
Derek Wolfe (@DerekWolfe95) - Its been a long time comin #whendreamsbecomereallity
Mitch Unrein (@MitchellJUnrein) - Headed to Soldier Field! #GoBroncos
Brock Osweiler (@BrockOsweiler) – Tonight in Chicago a life long dream becomes a reality…THANK YOU to my family and friends who have supported me since day 1. #LYL
Virgil Green (@VGreen85) – Game State of Mind #Grindtime #BLESSED
Zane Beadles (@zanebeadles) – The journey begins #GoBroncos
Elvis Dumervil (@EKD92) – In route to the stadium….gotta love it!
David Bruton Jr. (@D_Brut30) – On bus to the stadium. #BroncosCountry
Tony Carter (@tonycarter904) – 1st Pre Season game tonight vs the Bears #letsgetit
Chris Harris (@ChrisHarrisJr) – Headed to Soldier Field #broncosup
Willismcgahee @WillisMcGahee – U kno the world is waiting waiting waiting
Broncos at Cowboys: Second Half BlogKICKOFF: Matt Prater is in to kick off to start the second half. Raymond Radway is deep to receive, and he finds some room out to about the 24-yard line. There’s a flag on the play — illegal block in the back on the Cowboys. That pushes the ball back to the 10-yard line, where Stephen McGee steps in under center as quarterback.
Q3 14:28: After a 1-yard run on first down, Jason Hunter chases McGee out of bounds, but the quarterback throws the ball away before he steps out, making it third-and-9. On third down, McGee finds a receiver after getting nice blocking in the pocket — it’s an 11-yard gain for a first down. On the ensuing first down, McGee fakes a handoff and fires downfield under pressure from Derrick Harvey, and the pass is incomplete thanks to tight coverage by Cassius Vaughn, who tipped the pass away at the last moment.
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Broncos at Cowboys: First Half BlogCOIN TOSS: Lonie Paxton, Chris Kuper, Kyle Orton, J.D. Walton, Brian Dawkins and Elvis Dumervil are at midfield as captains for the Broncos. The Broncos call heads — and it’s heads. Denver elects to receive.
KICKOFF: Lance Ball is deep to receive the opening kickoff as the crowd is on its feet. The ball sails out of the back of the end zone — get used to that with kickoffs now coming from the 35-yard line.
Q1 15:00: The offensive starters are on the field, led by Kyle Orton at quarterback. Along the line are Ryan Clady, Zane Beadles, J.D. Walton, Chris Kuper and Orlando Franklin. Knowshon Moreno is at running back, Spencer Larsen is at fullback, Brandon Lloyd and Eric Decker are the receivers and Daniel Fells is the starting tight end.
Q1 14:50: After a pass batted at the line by Marcus Ware, Moreno picked up 4 yards on second down. Now third-and-6, Orton drops back into the shotgun. He takes the snap and fires quickly to Eric Decker, who finds a lot of room down the sideline for a big gain into Cowboys territory. The ball is now at the Dallas 47. It’s a 29-yard gain.
Q1 13:30: Orton avoids pressure on the ensuing first down, tossing a quick pass to Moreno out of the backfield for an 8-yard gain. Moreno follows it up with a run up the middle for 6 yards and another first down. The Broncos are moving as Willis McGahee takes his first carry as a Bronco, picking up 6 yards. Second-and-4 brings another McGahee run, and he takes it to the 16-yard line for a first down.
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Broncos at Cowboys: Pregame Blog
First of all — wow. Cowboys Stadium is huge. Or at least the scoreboard makes it look as big as any venue I’ve ever been to — though Wembley was pretty huge as well.
OK, now to business. Football is back! Even the national anthem singer warming up on the field is exciting. And speaking of warming up, players are already jogging around on the field.
Jeremy Beal, Julius Thomas, Brady Quinn and Brandon Lloyd are among the handful of players stretching out as Darius Rucker is blasting through the speakers.
It’s a new season, so to remind you how this will work, just refresh this page every now and then for updates from the leadup to the game, including pregame photos. Then, when the game starts, we’ll switch over to the first half blog, which will refresh automatically.
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