The Denver Broncos have returned to winning ways by beating the Chicago Bears 17-15 in their NFL clash at Solider Field this evening.
Denver went into the match on the back of a two-game losing streak after starting the season 7-0, while Peyton Manning was sidelined through injury following one of the worst performances of his illustrious career last time out.
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Brock Osweiler was handed his first career start on his 25th birthday as a result, and he began the match perfectly by firing a pass up the middle for Demaryius Thomas, who beat a defender and strode over in the corner for a 48-yard touchdown.
That proved to be the only score of the opening quarter, but the Bears did begin to chip away at the lead in the second courtesy of two field goals from Robbie Gould.
Brandon McManus responded with a kick of his own in the dying stages of the first half to nudge the Broncos into a four-point lead at the break, and they were gifted possession back in the third when Jay Cutler was picked off by Danny Trevathan.
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They were unable to take advantage of that turnover, however, and Gould's third field goal of the match made it a one-point game again heading into the fourth quarter.
The Broncos were able to keep the Bears and former coach John Fox at arm's length, however, with Osweiler throwing his second touchdown pass of the night to make it 17-9, this time combining with Cody Latimer for a 10-yard score.
Cutler threw his second interception of the day to give possession back to the Broncos, but they were unable to take advantage and it was Chicago who made things interesting late on when Jeremy Langford rushed in from two yards with just 24 seconds of game time remaining.
The Bears went for the two-point conversion that would draw them level, but this time Langford was unable to cross the whitewash as the Broncos held out for the victory.
As a result, the Broncos avoided losing three matches in a row for the first time in four years to move 8-2 for the season, while the Bears' two-game winning streak comes to an end as they drop to 4-6 in the NFC North.
Barney Corkhill
