CHICAGO — Through the toughest and darkest of times, Russell Wilson remains not only relentlessly positive, but fiercely competitive.
He gets criticized for the positive stuff. People don't think anyone so optimistic can be genuine. All those critics, though, cannot deny Wilson's immense desire to compete.
"I love to win,'' Wilson said at his locker. "I love to play. Love to win. That was special."
With the Broncos looking like the worst team in football for three quarters while trailing the Chicago Bears, 28-7, in a contest of winless teams, Wilson led a comeback with two touchdown passes and a long completion to Marvin Mims Jr. to set up a go ahead field goal.
Wil Lutz was good from 51 yards away to put the Broncos up, 31-28 with 1:46 remaining in regulation. It became a game-winning kick when the defense made it hold. Kareem Jackson intercepted Fields with 32 seconds remaining to clinch Denver's first win of the year, and first win for Sean Payton as the Broncos' head coach.
It was Wilson' 32nd fourth quarter comeback in his career, putting him in the top 10 among clutch quarterbacks in NFL history. (John Elway is 9th with 35). Wilson was 21 of 28 for 223 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions against the Bears, good for a 133.5 passer rating. In the end, Wilson's rating beat that of Fields, who was settled at a perfect 158.3 most of the game but cooled off in the fourth quarter and finished with a 132.7 rating on 28 of 35 passing for 335 yards, four touchdowns and the end-of-game pick.
"I've been on the other side of Russell's incredible competitiveness,'' said Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey, a former 49er and rival of the Seahawks where Wilson played his first 10 seasons. "I'm happy to be on his side now. This is as much his win as anybody else's. He played his ass off today. When the moments were tough, he looked us all in the eye and said, 'We're going to get this done. And sure as (bleep) he did."
What a comeback win for Russ. What a comeback win for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and head coach Sean Payton.
The Broncos are now 1-3 and and play next Sunday against the New York Jets at Empower Field at Mile High. The game will draw interest because of Payton's training camp criticism of previous Broncos' head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who is now the Jets' offensive coordinator.
That story can wait. Among the stories for today is Payton was presented by owner Greg Penner with a game ball for his first win as a Broncos' head coach.
"Hopefully, the first of many relative to where we're going,'' said Payton, a former Saints head coach who is now an NFL all-time best 45-14 in the month of October. "We have a lot of work to do still. But we'll enjoy this, these guys can enjoy it and then get ready for next week and we can dive into the whole Jet fiasco stuff.''
Down 28-7, Wilson threw touchdown passes to Brandon Johnson with seconds left in the third quarter and Courtland Sutton with 9:36 left in the fourth quarter to make it, 28-21.
After his third-and-long touchdown pass to Sutton, Wilson pumped his fist repeatedly as he sensed the rally was reaching high gear.
"You've got to have great belief,'' Wilson said. "And you've got to have no fear. ... I've had some great moments over my career but that was one of my favorite ones.''
Jonathon Cooper picked up a fumble by his former Ohio State teammate Fields and returned it 35 yards to make it, 28-28. Fields was getting sacked by Nik Bonitto -- who started ahead of Randy Gregory -- on the play and lost the ball as he tried to throw it away. A horrific mistake.
Wilson then completed a 48-yard deep throw to rookie Mims to set up Lutz' field goal and the winner.
For a while, it appeared the Denver defense just transported Fields back in time.
A struggling pro quarterback with the Bears for going on three years, Fields on a gorgeous October-opening Sunday afternoon before 62,220 at Soldier Field once again played like the terrific college quarterback he was at Ohio State.
In a game pitting two 0-3 teams against each other, Fields was great for three quarters while going against a Denver D that surrendered 70 points the previous week at Miami, and 35 points at home to Washington two weeks ago.
Through three quarters, Fields was 23 of 24 for 285 yards and 4 touchdowns.
But the defense rallied along with the offense in the fourth quarter. Denver D's four, fourth-quarter series:
*A three-and-out
*Turnover created by starting edge rushers Bonitto, who forced the fumble, and Cooper, who picked it up and ran in for a touchdown.
*A fourth-and-1 stop on their own 18 yard line with less than 3 minutes remaining - Delarrin Turner-Yell on third down and Alex Singleton on fourth down made the big sticks.
*Another turnover on the Jackson interception.
Here's to coach Joseph.
For the fourth time in four games this year, the Broncos won the coin toss and elected to defer until the second half. They wound up with just one offensive possession in the first quarter and made it count as Payton the offensive play caller and game planner implemented a short passing game that Wilson executed well for an 11-play, 84-yard scoring drive.
The series concluded with a screen pass to Jaleel McLaughlin, which the rookie running back gathered, cut and sprinted in for an 18-yard touchdown. It was 7-0 Broncos.
McLaughlin, who subbed in for the injured Javonte Williams, was the Broncos' most exciting player. McLaughlin rushed for 72 yards on just seven carries and also had three catches for 32 yards with the touchdown.
"He was spectacular,'' Wilson said. "Obviously seeing Javonte go down (with a hip injury) was tough because he's been great for us so far. I think Jaleel is a young rookie. The spirit of him is what's amazing, his confidence. He's got God all over him. He has great confidence all over him. He just believes how great he can be.
"He works at it every day. Guy gets here early to the facility, like you guys know, and he's so dedicated to the game."
But the Bears on their next possession used the remarkable skill set of the otherwise inconsistent Fields. Using well-designed play action, Fields moved the Bears on a 75-yard drive that he finished with the first play of the second quarter, a 30-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Moore, who did a marvelous job keeping two feet in at the inside right corner of the end zone. While the Bears told disgruntled receiver Chase Claypool not to show up for the game, Moore finished with 8 catches for 131 yards.
Moore beat Ja’Quan McMillian on the play. The touchdown was reviewed for several minutes – it didn’t appear Moore got his first foot down -- before the call stood.
McMillian was starting ahead of Essang Bassey at nickel and Bonitto started in place of the benched Gregory at outside linebacker in a shakeup Joseph made in response to the 70-point fiasco last week at Miami. Bonitto had 2.5 sacks in his best game since he became the Broncos' second-round draft pick last year. Gregory did play, beginning with the second defensive series.
But on a team that is paying a combined $19.5 million to Gregory and Frank Clark, it is Cooper and Bonitto, who are making a combined $1.8 million this year, who are getting it done as edge rushers.
On the ensuing kickoff, Mims lost the boot by Cairo Santos in the sun. The ball bounced off Mims’ helmet and he had to hustle to recover the ricocheted at his 4-yard line. Pinned deep and with the partisan Chicago crowd roaring a momentum change, the Broncos’ offense went nowhere. A punt gave the Bears the ball at the Denver 44 with 13 minutes left in the first half.
The Bears took advantage, finishing their short drive with Fields connecting with tight end Cole Kmet – who was left incredibly wide open – for a 22-yard touchdown.
On the Bears’ next possession, Fields continued his completion streak by going schoolyard for a touchdown, as it appeared he would run the ball in from the 3-yard line before stopping just short of the line of scrimmage and flipping to an open Kmet in the end zone.
It was 21-7 Bears. Fields threw 67 touchdown passes against 9 interceptions in a little more than two seasons at Ohio State so he was worthy of the Bears' No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 draft. But he has largely struggled with his passing acumen until he kept finding open receivers for three quarters Sunday.
Fields’ 16 of 16 streak ended as he threw a deep, Hail Mary-type pass from near midfield on the final play of the half that was knocked away incomplete. His other numbers still gave him a perfect 158.3 passer rating at half and after three quarters.
On the first series of the second half, Fields completed 7 of 7 passes for 53 yards with another schoolyard-type, 2-yard touchdown pass to running back Khalil Herbert. It was 28-7 with 4 minutes, 11 seconds left in the third quarter.
Wilson answered with a quick, 75-yard drive he finished with a 4-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Brandon Johnson. That closed the gap to 28-14 as the game entered the fourth quarter. On his next possession, Wilson converted a third-and-5, third-and-11 and a third-and-9 to keep the ball moving. He fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to Sutton off the third-and-9 with 9:36 left in regulation to bring the Broncos to within, 28-21.
The comeback was in high gear and it didn't stop until Lutz' long field goal was true and Jackson's interception was final.
"Look there's a lot of things we have to clean up,'' Payton said. "We're still not doing well. But one thing I was proud of, they hung in there, they fought. We came up with enough plays at the end but we're going to have to play a lot better if we want to win more games this season."
Bronco Bits
Four key Denver defensive players were out with injuries – safety Justin Simmons (groin/hip), inside linebacker Josey Jewell (groin/hip), edge rusher Frank Clark (groin/hip) and nose tackle Mike Purcell (ribs).
Early in the week, the Broncos were hoping Simmons was going to play and he did practice Wednesday and Thursday but his groin issue didn’t come around as hoped. He sat out a second straight game and was replaced again by Turner-Yell, whose 9 tackles were second on the team to Singleton's 12. Clark missed his third game in a row. Purcell and Jewell were down for the first time this season. …
Besides Bonitto's 2.5 sacks, Cooper also had a sack and a touchdown return for the Broncos. Cooper and Fields were teammates at Ohio State and a couple plays after the sack, the two exchanged a bro hug on the field. …
Scott DiStefano, who is in his 43rd year as a Broncos scout after playing some college football at Colorado State, attended the game Sunday. He is serving as the Broncos’ senior Midwest area scout. …
Williams, who had been the Broncos' leading rusher through three games, left the game in the second quarter with a hip injury. He had no yards on two carries and three catches for 9 yards. McLaughlin more than did the job as a fill in. ...
Jerry Jeudy led Broncos receivers with 3 catches for 52 yards. ...
Mims' 25-yard punt return early in the fourth quarter was huge in giving the Broncos decent starting field position. Wilson finished the 66-yard drive with the touchdown pass to Sutton to make it 28-21.
First half of Broncos Bear game
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