Sep 15, 2019; Denver, CO, USA; Chicago Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro (15) kicks the winning field goal as Chicago Bears punter Pat O'Donnell (16) holds the ball in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
NFLBy Matt Clapp on

Bears-Broncos on Sunday in Denver was an incredibly boring football game (unless you absolutely love old school defensive battles and bad offensive play)… until the final few minutes. Then, *a lot* happened.

Trailing 13-6, it appeared the Broncos would get a touchdown with under five minutes remaining to either tie the game or take the lead. But Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller showed why he was named a first-team All-Pro in 2018, and made a terrific play to intercept a Joe Flacco pass at the goal line.

And it seemed that may basically close things out, but it turned out there were several more big moments to come.

The Bears weren’t able to do anything with their ensuing drive, and the Broncos then marched down for another chance for a touchdown in the final minute. This time, the Broncos executed. Emmanuel Sanders made an incredible catch — and did a fantastic job to stay in bounds — in the back right corner of the end zone for a Denver touchdown.

The Broncos intended to go for two, but were called for Delay of Game. That’s certainly an unacceptable penalty in that spot. So they lined up for an extra point for tie it.. and missed. But the Bears’ Buster Skrine was offsides. That’s certainly an unacceptable penalty in that spot. Finally, on the third post-touchdown attempt, there was no penalty, and the Broncos took the lead with a two-point conversion on another Flacco-Sanders connection.

After a touchback on the kickoff, Mitch Trubisky and a highly-struggling Bears offense needed to drive into field goal range with only 31 seconds and one timeout to work with. They quickly got some help thanks to a horrible roughing-the-passer penalty (the Bears were also called for two brutal personal fouls earlier in the game).

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Still, things looked quite bleak for the Bears, especially when they had a 4th-and-15 at their own 40 with only eight seconds remaining. But Trubisky (finally) made a nice play to avoid pressure and find Allen Robinson at the Denver 35.

However, it appeared that the game may be over, as Robinson was tackled in the middle of the field and the game clock went to zero. The refs reviewed the play, and determined that the Bears called their final timeout with one second on the clock. That gave Chicago the chance for a field goal to win it, though they were depending on rookie kicker Eddy Piñeiro, who wasn’t even named the team’s kicker until late August after winning a camp battle that left few people around the Bears feeling confident about the position.

Well, Piñeiro nailed the 53-yard walk-off field goal, to give the Bears a 16-14 victory.

A stunning finish, and especially to Bears fans after having to witness the Cody Parkey double doink to end the team’s Super Bowl hopes last season. Piñeiro went 3-for-3 on field goal attempts in the game, and is now 4-for-4 on the season.

The win prevents the Bears — 12-4 in 2018 — from falling to 0-2, which would’ve had the city of Chicago in panic mode.

The Broncos, on the other hand, are 0-2, so that’s not really a surprise to anyone. And they’re quite likely to be 0-3, as they travel to Green Bay to face the Packers in Lambeau in Week 3.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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