The Denver Broncos have been pretty bad for the past few years. Broncos fans hoped that this year would be different with the addition of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, but as of yet have had no such luck. Week one of the football season came with a 24-16 loss to the Raiders. The loss was understandable, given that it was the first game of the regular season, as well as being in the rowdy, undesirable Raiders’ stadium in Oakland. 

Despite the discouraging season start, Broncos fans across the nation were filled with hope for week two’s game against the Bears. The game went by slowly, with both teams exchanging field goals in the first half. Five minutes before the end of the game, the score was 13-6 Bears. Every Broncos fan stood on their feet as Flacco wound up to throw a pass intended for Emmanuel Sanders, who was in the end zone. The result was bad: the Bears intercepted the pass, ending the Broncos’ chance of tying the game. Hope returned when the Broncos drove down the field and scored a touchdown, with Emmanuel Sanders leaping over the Bears’ safety and snagging the ball out of the air. The score was then brought to 13-12, with the Broncos trailing by only one point. I found myself yelling at the TV when the Broncos decided to go for the win instead of tying it up, carried by the passion of the game. I was saved as the clock struck zero and Flacco got called for a delay of game penalty. Denver promptly decided to change their strategy, and try for a kick instead. This made me wipe the sweat off my brow, and seconds later, our kicker missed the uprights. I bowed my head and put my hand over my face in disappointment. Then, the craziest thing happened: the Bears had jumped before the snap and Denver were given another chance to get a point. Denver chose to switch it up again and decided to try for a two point conversion. I promptly started to spout some choice words, but was surprised when Flacco threw a connecting pass to Emanuel Sanders in the endzone, putting the Broncos ahead 14-13. 

I would never have expected the Broncos to lose the game, especially seeing as after the two point conversion there were only 30 seconds left in the game. Unfortunately, they did. The Bears looked like they were going nowhere with the ball, and on fourth down they had 10 seconds left and were 15 yards or so from field goal range. Still, the Bears decided to go for the win. The play began. The Broncos covered all of the receivers perfectly, and the linemen and linebackers closed in on Bears’ quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky panicked and started to run. As he was about to cross the line of scrimmage, he spotted an open receiver and threw it to him 20 yards down the field. The receiver hit the ground with 1 second left. The Bears kicker walked up to the line, kicked it right through the uprights, and the Bears won 16-14, a loss that will remain in the minds of many Broncos fans far into the future. 

The Broncos will face of against the Green Bay Packers in Wisconsin this Sunday, September 22nd, a game which Broncos fans hope will finally go their way.