Peyton Manning throws interception, as Denver Broncos win 31-3 against Chicago Bears - NFL Recap
Peyton Manning’s move to the Denver Broncos this offseason was one of the biggest stories in the National Football League (NFL) and it was no surprise that all eyes were on the quarterback in the Broncos first game of the pre-season on Thursday against Chicago
Bears.
The veteran quarterback was given only a little time on his Broncos debut and put up a mixed performance against the Bears who were without some of their major defensive stalwarts.
Manning threw an interception and completed four passes from seven attempts for a total gain of 44 yards before watching his teammates for the rest of the match from the sidelines.
It was a low-key debut for the 36-year-old but keeping in mind that Manning had not passed the ball for over a year and made his first appearance in a NFL stadium his performance was not surprising.
Coach John Fox in his talk with the press after the game also cited his quarterback’s lack of game-time and went on to praise Manning’s performance.
Fox said:
"He was remarkable. He came back, he's worked very hard. He hasn't played football in (almost) two years. I thought it was a good first drive in these conditions -- it was sloppy. It was sloppy by the receivers as far as the conditions, but I thought it
was a very good first outing."
The rest of the game was an easy run out for Denver who tried out all four of their quarterbacks in the game with former Chicago Bears backup quarterback Caleb Hanie replacing Manning followed by rookies Brock Osweiler and Adam Weber.
Chicago Bears did not play many of their first teamers with both quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver, Brandon Marshall sitting out while running back Matt Forte also did not participate.
The Bears defence too was without its big players such as Brian Urlacher and Julius Peppers.
With much of their first team sitting out the Bears couldn’t muster much in offence and struggled on defence as well going down 24-0 in the third quarter.
The Bears managed to break their duck with a 47-yard field goal in the final quarter through Robbie Gould but went on to lose the game 31-3.
Rushing touchdowns from Lance Ball and Xavier Omon in the second and third quarter respectively put the Broncos up 17-0.
Receiver Jason Hill put Denver up 24-0 after taking a 19-yard pass from quarterback Brock Osweiler.
The Bears scored their only field goal of the game breaking their duck before Broncos quarterback Adam Weber threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Cornelius Ingram to wrap up an easy win for Denver.
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