Preseason Game #1: Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears 2nd Half Open Thread

Halftime

The Broncos hold the Bears to an astounding 0 for 5 on third down in the first half. That's what I like to see.

Peyton Manning started off well, driving the Broncos all the way down the field for a redzone opportunity. Unfortunately, a pass across the middle to Brandon Stokley was deflected and intercepted by Major Wright. This play looked eerily familiar, though. Last Friday, during training camp, the Broncos ran the same play (although Stokley and Jacob Tamme went left to right instead of right to left). The ball was tipped by Chris Harris and floated endlessly in the air before being caught in the endzone by Jacob Tamme for a touchdown. The Broncos offense wasn't so lucky, this time.

Other than that, the Broncos offense looked pretty good. McGahee had a few nice runs, utilizing his power to blow up defenders. Demaryius Thomas, Jacob Tamme and Eric Decker all had some receptions on the first drive, as well.

The Broncos first team defense made itself known, too. Von Miller scooped up a fumble and rumbled down to the Bears 6 yard line, leading the Broncos to a chip shot field goal.

The Broncos second team had some ups and downs. On one hand, Derek Wolfe sacked Jason Campbell as he tried to escape to the right side. Drayton Florence was another bright spot. On one play, he jammed his receiver at the line for a good 3 seconds, enough time to allow Rober Ayers a chance to shed his defender and sack the quarterback. However, the Broncos second team offensive line had some struggles, allowing a pair of sacks on Caleb Hanie, who was already struggling to find receivers not named Matthew Willis during his first few drives. Hanie settled down later in the half, though.

The Broncos did manage to push their way into the end zone late in the second quarter, courtesy of a few Hanie completions to Cornelius Ingram and Jason Hill, followed by an excellent lead block by Austin Sylvester to give Lance Ball the space he needed for pay dirt.

Tony Carter was called for a defensive pass interference, which was totally ridiculous as the receiver slipped and grabbed a handful of Bronco jersey and facemask, That's what you get sometimes with replacement referees. Totally ridiculous. The Broncos did hold the Bears near midfield, however, forcing a punt.

The Broncos got a chance for a quick drive and Caleb Hanie almost threw an interception deep down the left sideline, but it was dropped. Prater was given the opportunity to kick a deep 57 yard field goal and missed.

The Broncos lead 10-0 going into the half. Hopefully, we can score some more points and pull out a victory.