Bears grades
Game ball
Unbelievable, ridiculous, freaktastic … call him what you will, Devin Hester is simply a joy to watch. The guy returned 2 more touchdowns Sunday to move into fourth place all-time in the NFL with 10 total. Yeah, guess that's worth a game ball.
Offense
Quarterback 2½ balls
Rex Grossman (17-for-33, 193 yards, 1 TD) was clutch late, but man was he bad early, fumbling twice and throwing a terrible interception into tight coverage.
Running backs 2½ balls
After his longest run of the day -- a 21-yarder in the second quarter -- Cedric Benson (8 rushes 47 yards, 5.9 avg.) appeared to get his left ankle rolled and had to be taken off on a cart. His replacement, Adrian Peterson, averaged 2.6 yards, but thrilled with a gritty 4-yard TD run.
Receivers 2 balls
Chicago Bears: 37 | Denver Broncos: 34 Stories Gould FG caps Bears comeback win Berrian's catch tougher than it looked Hester special, indeed Ankle injury knocks Benson out of game Mike Imrem: Now, Bears at least dead men walking Bumpy ride for defense How they scored Bears grades Sauerbrun: Just an extremely bad day Former Bear Hall enjoys his best day as a pro Multimedia Photo gallery
During the game, CBS showed a medley of dropped passes by the Bears this season. The receivers added to the montage Sunday with Rashied Davis and Moose Muhammad leading the way. Only a couple of nice grabs by Desmond Clark and Bernard Berrian's sweet TD catch in the final minute saved their grade.
Offensive line 2 balls
What will be your fondest memory of the Fred Miller era? Boy did the Bears' right tackle struggle Sunday. It got so bad that he was replaced by John St. Clair in the fourth quarter.
Defense
Defensive line 4 balls
Another solid day for Adewale Ogunleye, who finished with a pair of sacks (9), forced a fumble and added a fumble recovery. Anthony Adams and Mark Anderson were active as well. But can we all agree that it's time for Tommie Harris to quit playing and get healed up?
Linebackers 3 #189; balls
Take a guess who led all Bears in tackles Sunday? That's right, Hunter Hillenmeyer with 10.
Secondary 3 balls
Charles Tillman's interception was the highlight for a unit that had to be absolutely exhausted after this one. Denver had 302 passing yards, but a lot of it was on dink and dunk plays went for big gains.
Special teams 4#189; balls
Kept the Bears in this one with a pair of returns for touchdown and a blocked punt (Tillman). Slapping at the ball on a first-quarter punt? Devin Hester, that was ridiculous. Running back a punt and a kickoff for TDs? Priceless.
Coaching 2#189; balls
Screens, sweeps, swing passes, the option #8230; how long does it take to realize the Broncos love to run those plays ? One word: Adjust. Another word: Contain. But hey, you got the win when you absolutely had to.