SALON

Friday, Aug 10, 2012 5:46 AM UTC

Manning makes cameo, Broncos beat Bears 31-3

By

Topics: From the Wires

Manning makes cameo, Broncos beat Bears 31-3Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning warms up before an NFL preseason football game against the Chicago Bears in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. The Broncos won 31-3. (AP Photo/Daily Herald, Mark Welsh) MANDATORY CREDIT; TV OUT; MAGS OUT(Credit: AP)

CHICAGO (AP) — Peyton Manning didn’t hide his feelings. This one was special, and he simply wasn’t about to dismiss it as just another tuneup.

He’s come too far for that.

“I know how much hard work I’ve put in and how much help I’ve gotten along the way,” he said. “I know once we get to Pittsburgh, it’ll be all about the game. I’m not going to be too reflective.”

His first preseason appearance with the Broncos was brief and a bit uneven. He hopes to have it ironed out by the opener Sept. 9.

Manning got intercepted near the goal line on the game’s opening possession and watched from the sideline the rest of the way as Denver beat the Chicago Bears 31-3 Thursday night.

All eyes were on Manning and the results were mixed for the four-time MVP. Considering he missed all of last season with a nerve injury in his neck that weakened his throwing arm and led to his tearful farewell from the Indianapolis Colts, it was hardly a surprise.

Manning is trying to show he still has something left with Denver (No. 10 in the AP Pro32), and all things considered, coach John Fox was impressed.

“He’s going to continue to improve,” Fox said. “That’s the whole challenge of our team. That was a good first start, good first outing, and it’s what we do with it from here on out that’s going to count.”

On a cool and rainy night, Manning completed 4 of 7 passes for 44 yards, but didn’t have to contend with Julius Peppers or Brian Urlacher. He had all the time he needed, too, so it remains to be seen how he’ll handle a big hit.

But even with little pressure, he still was a bit off target against Chicago (No. 11 tie).

On the game’s first play from scrimmage, his pass was broken up by Chicago’s Lance Briggs, and his second was nearly picked off, too. The Bears’ Geno Hayes tipped the ball near midfield, but Jacob Tamme hauled it in for a 12-yard gain to the Chicago 39.

After a short run by Willis McGahee, Manning found Eric Decker on the left for 10 yards. A 19-yarder to Decker a few plays later put the ball on the 14, and the Broncos looked like they were poised to score.

Instead, on third down at the 12, Manning got picked off when Denver’s Brandon Stokley deflected a pass and Major Wright dived for the interception at the 2. Wright then left the game with a hamstring injury that he said was “nothing major,” no pun intended.

Manning was finished for the night, too, and that brought the biggest story to a close.

“There’s always a little bit of an unknown, there’s obviously a lot of change,” he said. “New team, new players, not ideal weather conditions. There were some different elements for me. It’s hard to know what’s going to happen, it’s hard to predict, but I felt like I had a little rhythm there on offense, things we can build on. … Overall, I thought it was a decent start.”

Another big angle never materialized. That was the Jay Cutler-Brandon Marshall reunion.

They put up big numbers in Denver and they’re back together after the Bears (No. 11 tie) acquired Marshall from Miami. That blockbuster trade gave Cutler the go-to target he’s lacked since he arrived from the Broncos and sent expectations soaring in Chicago after a disappointing 8-8 finish. But instead of a first look, fans got a rain check.

Cutler warmed up but coach Lovie Smith decided to hold him out, one day after his fiancée Kristin Cavallari gave birth to a boy named Camden Jack.

“It wasn’t really in the plan for Jay to go out there,” coach Lovie Smith said. “He’ll get more reps this week.”

Running back Matt Forte and Peppers were also in uniform but did not play. Urlacher, meanwhile, wasn’t expected to play after missing time in six practices because of his injured left knee and for personal reasons, and was not on the sideline.

With their star quarterback and running back watching, the Bears managed just 41 yards in the first half and trailed 10-0 at the break.

Marshall caught just one pass for 4 yards. Jason Campbell completed 4 of 5 for 13 yards before Josh McCown relieved him, and Michael Bush carried three times for 2 yards in his first appearance as a Bear. He also lost a fumble in the first quarter that led to a field goal for Denver.

Caleb Hanie then came in for Manning and was immediately booed by Chicago fans for failing last year after Cutler suffered a season-ending thumb injury. Besides the field goal, he led the Broncos on a 57-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter and wound up going 7 for 14 for 79 yards.

But in the end, the focus was right where it started — on Manning.

“To me there was no difference,” said Stokley, who played with him in Indianapolis. “He still throws the ball great. I think everybody saw today that he has great control of the offense. I think we are just going to try to build on this and get better every week. I think it was a good first step.”

___

Online: http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32 and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

.

More Andrew Seligman.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
From global warming to fluoride: Why do people deny science? An interesting question.
50 points51 points | 61 comments
vote
Developers evict historic women’s shelter to build luxury hotel - The 104-yr-old Anna Louise Inn has ended its 2-year legal battle with a Fortune 500 company & will now move. Many view the victory of the insurance company over a community touchstone as a major blow to the city.
34 points35 points | 2 comments
vote
Anonymous rallies behind Kaitlyn Hunt
30 points31 points | 35 comments
vote
The GOP Is the 'Party of Crybabies' for Demanding No One Criticize Their Policies or Donors
22 points23 points | comment
vote
Illinois' fracking and coal rush is a national crisis: Illinois and its Mississippi River banks are becoming another ground zero in the war over climate change.
19 points20 points | comment

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations