Coach, players don't blame Bears' RB Marion Barber for Broncos loss – NFL News
Chicago Bears fans are looking for anyone to pit blame on for their 13-10 overtime defeat against Denver Broncos and Marion Barber is the perfect target for their ire.
Barber had scored the Bears first touchdown in the third quarter as they built up a 10-0 lead. Catastrophic mistakes by the running back in the fourth quarter however, cost his team the game as Broncos led by quarterback Tim Tebow
rallied in the dying minutes to tie the game and win in overtime.
While fans vent their fury at the running back, his teammates have come out in full support of Barber.
"We all feel bad for Marion because we've all been in that situation at some point in our career," tight end Matt Spaeth told the Bears' official website. "He played a great game. We wouldn't have even been in that game or had
a chance to win if it wasn’t for Marion and the way he played."
Coach Leslie Frazier also believes that Barber had a great game and the blame for the loss should be shared across the team.
"It's on all of us," Smith said. "Yes, it's a coaching thing. But it's on our team, on Marion, on us, on all of us. It's a situation that shouldn’t happen, but it did, and we're all suffering the consequences for it."
Barber made his first major blunder late in the fourth quarter with Bears leading 10-7. The Bears who were looking to run down the clock with two minutes left and seal their victory were shocked when the running back ran out of
bounds. This stopped the clock giving Broncos much needed time to regroup.
Tebow got his team to 59-yards from the end-zone with kicker Matt Prater scoring a crucial field goal to send the game to extra time.
Barber was to be blamed again in overtime. With Bears on the drive he fumbled the ball and the Broncos regained possession. Tebow brilliant as ever in the final moments of the game led his team to within range of the uprights.
Kicker Matt Prater who had previously scored from 59-yards to tie the game stepped up with a 51-yard field goal to give Broncos the lead and win the game.
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