The Chicago Bears Blow A 28-7 Lead to the Denver Broncos
Photo Credit: Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears' loss to the Denver Broncos in week 4 was a tail of two halves. In the first half, the Bears offense and defense were dominating. Justin Fields started the day 16-17, with his only incompletion being a Hail Mary at the end of the half. Fields almost perfect first half allowed him to have 231 passing yards and three touchdowns. Those three touchdown passes to tight end Cole Kemet (2) and to wide receiver D.J. Moore (1). As for the rushing game, they had eight rushes for 19 yards. While that is not a great average, the running did not cause issues because the passing gaming was effective.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears let up an opening drive touchdown, which was not surprising. However, the rest of the half was a surprising change for the Bears' defense. They were able to completely shut down the Broncos on third down, which is something they have not done to any team this season. The defense also only allowed 125 yards of total offense to the Broncos through two quarters. That is the least amount of yards the Bears' defense has allowed in a half this season.
The strong start on both sides of the ball meant the Bears went into the half with a 21-7 lead over the Broncos. The Bears carried the momentum from the strong start into the second half, with the defense forcing a three and out on the Broncos' first possession. That stop led to another great drive by the Bears offense, culminating in a touchdown. This made the game 28-7 Chicago with 3:57 left in the third quarter.
At this point, it looked like the Bears had the game locked up for their first victory of the season. However, there were still nearly 19 minutes left in the game, which meant the Bears needed to finish strong. That is not at all what happened. Instead, the defense allowed the Broncos to score a touchdown with the remaining 3:57 in the third quarter. The touchdown made the game 28-14 and gave the Bears the ball to begin the fourth quarter. However, the Bears’ offense did nothing with the ball, going three and out in 1:18.
That meant the Broncos got the ball back with 13:42 left in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, the Broncos converted three third downs on route to scoring a touchdown in 4:20. That score made the 28-21. The Bears' next drive started okay but ended in disaster when the Broncos stripped Justin Fields of the ball and returned it for a touchdown. After the scoop and score, the game was tied at 28 with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter. That is enough time for the Bears to score and fix that mistake. Sure enough, it looked like they were about to make up for the mistake as they moved the ball down the field and into scoring range. However, the Bears decided to do a shotgun handoff on 4th & 1 when they were on Denver’s 18 yard line.
That play call failed and left the Broncos with 2:55 to salt away and score to win. It did not take the Broncos much time to get into field goal range as they hit a 48-yard pass to wide receiver Marvin Mims. This, however, gave the Bears a chance to force a field goal quicker. That is exactly what happened, and the Bears got the ball back with 1:46 seconds. Plenty of time to tie it at 31 and send it to overtime. Unfortunately, Fields threw an interception on a pass to Cole Kmet with 35 seconds left in the game, sealing the Bears loss.
A loss like this is one of the most demoralizing in franchise history. Most fans will blame this loss on Justin Fields because of his two late turnovers, but it is not all Fields fault. This poor Bears defense had a colossal collapse, allowing the Broncos offense to score 17 points in the final 20 minutes. After this type of loss, it may be difficult for the team to recover, but that is exactly what the team will have to do with a game on Thursday night against the Commanders.