advertisement

How they scored

Bears 3, Broncos 0

The score: Robbie Gould, 24-yard field goal; 6:55 left in the first quarter

Drive: 8 plays, 41 yards, 3:52 time of possession

The play: The drive started on a great note when Rex Grossman connected with tight end Desmond Clark for a 22-yard gain on the first play.

Fact: The Bears' defense set up the scoring drive by keeping the Broncos hemmed in deep in their own end. Adewale Ogunleye's third-down sack forced Denver to punt from its own end zone.

Bears 3, Broncos 3

The score: Jason Elam, 23-yard field goal; 3:16 left in first quarter

Drive: 7 plays, 20 yards, 2:34 time of possession

The play: Devin Hester mishandled a punt that the Broncos recovered deep in Bears territory.

Fact: The Broncos know how to score early and often. They came into the game having scored 1,100 first-quarter points since 1995 -- leading the NFL in that category.

Broncos 10, Bears 3

The score: Andre Hall, 16-yard run; Elam kick; 14:10 left in second quarter

Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 3:51 time of possession

The play: Facing a fourth-and-5 from the Bears' 28, Cutler connected with Brandon Marshall for a 12-yard gain.

Fact: Once again, a Bears turnover led to a Denver score. This time it was Grossman throwing into tight coverage and getting intercepted at the Denver 41.

Broncos 10, Bears 6

The score: Gould, 44-yard field goal; 5:32 left in second quarter.

Drive: 4 plays minus-10 yards, 2:38 time of possession.

The play: Facing third-and-loooooong, Adrian Peterson gained a clutch 17 yards on a pass from Grossman to set up Gould's field goal.

Fact: After Adewale Ogunleye recovered and returned a fumble to the Bears' 16, Grossman and Co. were pushed back to midfield thanks to a pair of holding calls.

Broncos 13, Bears 6

The score: Elam, 22-yard field goal; 0:13 seconds left in second quarter

Drive: 5 plays, 65 yards, 35 seconds time of possession

The play: On the first play of the drive, Hall took a screen pass and dashed 65 yards to the Bears' 5.

Fact: Hall had 112 yards of total offense in the first half

Broncos 13, Bears 13

The score: Devin Hester, 75-yard punt return; Gould kick; 12:49 left in third quarter

The play: Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun said all week he'd punt to Hester. He lived up to his word, but paid the price this time. In fact, it was a fallen Sauerbrun whom Hester leapt over at the 30 en route to the end zone.

Fact: Hester set a Bears record with his ninth return for a touchdown.

Broncos 20, Bears 13

The score: Cecil Sapp, 5-yard run; Elam kick; 2:38 remaining in third quarter

Drive: 10 plays, 84 yards, 6:01 time of possession

The plays: Tight end Tony Scheffler came up with a diving 17-yard catch, and it was followed by a long gain by Hall to the 2-yard line.

Fact: Sapp's TD gave the Broncos 17 points off turnovers.

Broncos 20, Bears 20

The score: Devin Hester, 88-yard kickoff return; Gould kick; 2:26 left in third quarter

The play: Big, gaping hole. Easy TD. Nuff said.

Fact: Hester moved into fourth all-time in the NFL with his 10th return for a touchdown. Ten TDs in 129 total returns? Ridiculous.

Broncos 27, Bears 20

The score: Marshall, 68-yard pass from Cutler; Elam kick; 2:11 left in third quarter

Drive: 1 play, 68 yards, 0:15 time of possession

The play: With all the momentum seemingly behind the Bears after Hester's heroics, Cutler wound up and hit Marshall in stride on the first play of the drive.

Fact: Marshall's TD made it 21 points scored in 23 seconds.

Broncos 34, Bears 20

The score: Scheffler, 14-yard pass from Cutler; Elam kick; 10:38 left in fourth quarter

Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 5:32 time of possession

The play: This was Scheffler's drive. He got the Broncos deep into Bears territory with a 41-yard reception, then sealed the deal with a touchdown catch in which he cradled the ball between his legs before finally securing it.

Fact: It was the second 10-play scoring drive for the Broncos in the second half.

Broncos 34, Bears 27

The score: Adrian Peterson, 4-yard run; Gould kick; 5:17 remaining in the fourth quarter

Drive: 4 plays, 18 yards, 1:57 time of possession

The play: Tight end Greg Olsen made a 10-yard catch to get to the Denver 5.

Fact: Peterson tied his career high for TDs in a season (2), which he's now done in three straight seasons.

Broncos 34, Bears 34

The score: Berrian, 4-yard pass from Grossman; Gould kick; 28 seconds left in fourth quarter

Drive: 12 plays, 65 yards, 2:30 time of possession

The play: It took a review, but in the end, Berrian was ruled to have caught the ball in the end zone before falling out of bounds.

Fact: Berrian has 54 catches on the year, eclipsing his career high of 51 set last season.

Bears 37, Bears 34

The score: Gould, 39-yard field goal; 11:19 left in overtime

The play: Grossman hit Clark for 39 yards on the first play from scrimmage.

Fact: During the coin toss for OT, Gould ran on the field and took a couple of practice kicks from the approximate distance of his game-winner.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.