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Published on 12/13/2011 at Tue Dec 13 09:57.
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Broncos 13, Bears 10 — BT Game Balls

Posted Tue Dec 13th by

The Denver Broncos won their sixth straight game and now have a one game lead over the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West after their 13-10 win against the Bears Sunday. It was another thrilling come-from-behind victory for Tim Tebow and company. BTer’s, let’s dish out game balls.

Matt Prater
Tying a career best is never an easy feat. Doing it with half the world watching, and every person that depends upon you as a professional in your craft putting more pressure on you than you’ve ever had before, is an even mightier task. Matt Prater lined up for the game-tying 59-yard field goal and, ice in his veins, sailed the football through the uprights. Then he nearly matched the achievement with a game-winner from 51 yards (which would have been good from 70). Matt Prater doesn’t need this game ball to be feeling really good to be Matt Prater today. — Monty
D.J. Williams
Broncos rookie linebacker Von Miller has been getting a lot of praise — rightly so — over the past few weeks, but the entire defense and linebacking corps has also been rock solid.  On Sunday, Williams quietly had a stellar game, recording a team-high nine solo tackles (including four for a loss) and two sacks, posting the second multi-sack game of his career.  This week, Williams gets a game ball.  — Jon
Von Miller
When the opposing offensive line false starts without you moving, you deserve a game ball. D.J. Williams may have light up the stat sheet but it was inpart due to the fear caused by Miller. The Bears struggled on third down all day and Miller was a key factor in that. Once upon a time there were concerns about Miller’s ability to stop the run. It’s safe to say that this guy isn’t a one trick passing down pony. — Mr. East

Wesley Woodyard

Linebacker Wesley Woodyard #52 of the Denver Broncos strips the ball from running back Marion Barber #24 of the Chicago Bears causing a fumble which was recovered by Elvis Dumervil of the Denver Broncos in overtime at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on December 11, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Wesley Woodyard has always been a fan favorite who figured to be a special teams ace and career backup. And that may still be the career he has ahead of him. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that role. But Sunday, against the Chicago Bears, Wesley Woodyard saved the game. One swipe of his arm, at the exact right time, at the exact right spot, saved the game. If Barber had kept that ball, then the only prayer left was a Robbie Gould miss. But thanks to that one valiant effort, he gave the Broncos’ offense one more chance to work a miracle. One chance that they simply did not and under any normal circumstance, never would have had. There is not a single thing more anyone could ever ask of any defensive player. Football players are always saying that when you get your opportunities, you have to step up and make a play, because you don’t get very many opportunities. And boy, did Wesley Woodyard ever step up and make that play! — E. Halsey Miles

Tim Tebow
What else needs to be said?  He was off target the first three quarters but he wasn’t helped by his receivers dropping balls either.   When the fourth quarter came around, Tebow once again was money.  The Bears knew exactly what was coming yet were still powerless to stop it.  Tebow’s passing is coming around and if he can ever put together a full 60 minutes, some poort team is in for a brutal beat down. But at least it will be with a smile!  — Kris Burke
Honorable mentions: Demaryius Thomas and Elvis Dumervil
Thomas had several inexcusable drops early in the game but came up big when the game was on the line (boy, does that sound familiar).  Thomas finished the day with seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown — his third score in the past two weeks and fourth since Tebow took over at quarterback.

 

Over the past six weeks, Dumervil has notched 7.5 sacks (1.0 coming against the Bears) and has been a fantastic compliment to Miller.  On Sunday, it was Dumervil that recovered Marion Barber‘s fumble and gave the Broncos the ball back in overtime.  Play-makers make plays, and Dumervil certainly made plays on Sunday.

 

Who gets your game ball folks? Take the poll and dish it out in the comments.

Who gets your Week 14 BT Game Ball?

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  • http://Facebook.com/BroncosZone Jon

    Sorry about the spacing issues, can’t get it figured out, stupid WordPress.

  • Anonymous

    Got to go with Von. The boy was double and even triple teamed all game. What a disruptive force!

  • Anonymous

    WordPress can be a b17ch! If you go to the html tab you can put where you want the space and hit save. That will usually do the trick. However you have to stay on the html page for it to work because once you switch back to the standard view it removes your code.

  • Anonymous

    Prater is the only legit choice here.   59 yds?  That’s bonkers.

  • Anonymous

    Prater is the only legit choice here.   59 yds?  That’s bonkers.

  • Anonymous

    Prater is the only legit choice here.   59 yds?  That’s bonkers.

  • Anonymous

    Prater is the only legit choice here.   59 yds?  That’s bonkers.

  • Anonymous

    Prater is the only legit choice here.   59 yds?  That’s bonkers.

  • Anonymous

    That’s nothing! Al Bundy once scored 4 td’s at Polk High in a single game!

  • Bucky

    Just so you know, the Von and Wood pics are flipped. 

  • http://Facebook.com/BroncosZone Jon

    And that’s not even his max.  I’d love to see him get to try a 65+ yarder before halftime one of these days…

  • Bucky

    Nevermind, I read it wrong
     

  • Anonymous

    That would be amazing to witness! 

  • Anonymous

    We’re all proud of Prater.  Two notes, though:
    1) 59 is really the new 39 these days. 
    2) God love ’em, Prater has the worst frat-boy arm tattoos I’ve seen in a long, long time.  Phew. 

  • Anonymous

    Has there ever been an end-of-game kick to tie or win longer than 59 yds in the history of the league? 

    I doubt it. 

  • http://thingsatrexdoes.tumblr.com Mike Birtwistle

    thank tebow he put his under armour on in the second half,  I don’t think I could stand seeing them for another half

  • Anonymous

    Josh Scobee beat the Colts with a 59 yard fg in 2010

    Rob Bironas made a 60 yard FG to beat the Colts in 2006. 

    Matt Bryant made a 62 yard FG to beat the Eagles, also in 2006. 

    Tom Dempsey made a record 63 yard FG for the Saints in 1970 to beat the Lions 19-17. They trailed 17-16 and his kick won the game.

  • http://ehalseymiles.com E. Halsey Miles

    Did Prater always have those and I just missed them somehow? I only first noticed them…around the end of last season I think?

  • Anonymous

    You have to judge each player against the standard for his own position. With that said, I have to give it Prater. What he did in that game is something that you’d have to search a long time for to find the equal of.

  • Anonymous

    My game balls:

    Matt Prater: First and foremost, this dude is straight money! Yes, he’s missed some “easy” kicks earlier, but this last game, he atoned for every miss he’s ever made in his entire life! I’m not sure if there was anyone in that stadium and at home, that didn’t know he was gonna drill that 59 yarder. Then he followed it up with an overtime 51 yard game winner. This kid needs to be signed long term, way before his contract even get’s close to running out.

    Von Miller: Just as us winning changed with 1 person (Orton out, Tebow in), our defense changed with 1 person (last week he’s out, this week he’s back). Man, our defense needs Miller. Like I said last week, without Miller, we have to blitz on every play to get even a sniff of pressure on the QB. When you blitz all the time, you are so vulnerable to bad things, and those bad things happened last week in Minnesota. When Miller is playing, we don’t need to blitz except for a few times a game, which are usually successful. With Miller in the game, we can play solid defense, non-gimicky defense, and still sack the QB. Man, if this kid doesn’t win rookie of the year, the NFL is as corrupt as the banking system.

    Defense in general: The defense atoned for last week. Yes, Miller in my opinion is THE reason why, but they also had players hurt, and still only allowed 10 points, 7 of which were because of us stupidly punting to Hester all F’ing game! If Harris holds onto that ball, it’s a pick 6, and it doesn’t even matter that Barber stepped out of bounds or fumbled in OT, cause we would have won in regulation.

    Tim Tebow: He was money when he had to be. 52.6% completion rate overall. He overcame multiple drops, including a beautiful 55 yard pass to Thomas, which again, would have meant that we would have won the game by halftime instead of overtime. Thomas said he alligator armed it, and I believe him. It hit him in the hands, and you saw that he wasn’t really reaching for it. Despite that, Tebow kept everyone believing they could win. Remember, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing, and good things never die.” I also love how Tebow deflects praise to his teammates. He’s constantly saying “my teammates make me look a lot better than I really am” and “It’s not Tebow Time, it’s Broncos Time.” Teammates LOVE that. It’s the anit-every one in the NFL.

    Those are my gameballs. Just remember Broncos Country, when Bears fans whine and complain that we beat their backup QB, just tell them that we beat their backup QB with our backup QB. When they complain that we got lucky that Barber stepped out of bounds or fumbled, tell them that they are lucky they blocked our FG kick, that Thomas dropped an easy TD, and that Harris dropped a pick 6. If Barber stays in bounds, the Bears don’t score any more points. If he doesn’t fumble, he probably scores 7. So you can give the Bears +7 for their “mistakes”. HOWEVER, if they don’t block our FG, it’s +3, if Thomas remembers to wake up, it’s +7, and if my boy Harris’s eyes don’t “see green” and holds on to the easiest INT he’ll ever have hit his hands, it’s another +7.

    Let’s recap. Bears mistakes cost them 7 points. Broncos mistakes cost them 17 points. So really, it wasn’t the Bear’s “losing the game”, it was the Broncos “almost giving the game away.” I’m sick of people saying that we never should have won, when the truth is that the Bears never should have been within 14 points of being in position to win.

  • Anonymous

    Three times in 50+ years?    Crazy

  • http://Facebook.com/BroncosZone Jon

    Wow, you should be with the Broncos’ PR!

  • http://Facebook.com/BroncosZone Jon

    I think they are somewhat recent…

  • Tom9798

    Ditto!

  • Anonymous

    I can’t honestly remember either, but I know they must be fairly recent because my wife only called them out recently.  She can’t help but notice that stuff and start s&^! talking immediately.  Does he usually wear long sleeves?  

  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous

    Seriously, you SHOULD be with Broncos PR.

  • http://thingsatrexdoes.tumblr.com Mike Birtwistle

    I’ve just watched the highlights….. again!#

    I want to give a game ball to Rahim Moore because of a missed tackle.  If he makes the tackle on Barber in the backfield with under 2 minutes to go – Barber doesn’t bounce to the outside and doesn’t go out of bounds.