DENVER – Eddy Pineiro's 53-yard field goal won Sunday's game for the Bears, but he would never have had the chance to attempt the kick if not for the collaboration between Mitchell Trubisky and Allen Robinson II on the previous play.
On fourth-and-15 from their own 40 with :09 left in the game, Trubisky stepped up in the pocket and completed a 25-yard pass to Robinson over the middle. The veteran receiver immediately fell to the ground at the Broncos' 35, enabling the Bears to call their final timeout with :01 to play.
"I knew it was going to be the last play and that we had to get in position to give the special teams and Eddy a chance," Trubisky said. "I liked our play call. I just knew I had to buy a little more time and the middle opened up. I just wanted to buy time in the pocket.
"I stepped up a bit to make it look like I was going to leave the pocket. The o-line did a great job of just giving me time and blocking those guys up front. I saw an opening and stepped up, Allen was right there open in the middle of the field, and it was very savvy of him to know to go down and get a timeout."
Key play: The Bears were still looking for their first touchdown of the season midway through the third quarter Sunday when Cordarrelle Patterson provided a much-needed spark. He took a pitch and raced 46 yards to the Broncos' 22, eventually setting up David Montgomery's 1-yard TD run.
Up until that point in the game, the Bears' longest play from scrimmage was an 18-yard pass from Trubisky to Ben Braunecker on the final play of the first half.
"You want to get the ball into Cordarrelle's hands as many times as you can," Trubisky said. "That was one of his big plays. Earlier in the week, we knew that if we could get him on the edge, he's going to be gone and it's going to be a big play for us. The o-line did a good job blocking and the other receivers did a good job blocking. We have to continue to keep using him to create explosive plays."
Stepping up: After rushing for 18 yards on six carries in the season opener against the Packers, Montgomery was more involved on offense Sunday, running for 62 yards and the Bears' only TD on 18 attempts.
"It was good," Montgomery said. "It's always good to try to gain the coaches' trust. I go out to practice every day trying to do that and getting in the game whenever my opportunity comes up, I try to take full advantage of it."
Montgomery was undeterred by the heat in Denver, where the game-time temperature was 87 degrees.
"It was hot," Montgomery said. "But I drank a lot of Pedialyte last night, a lot of water. I hydrated throughout the whole week. I was preparing early on in the week for this day."
Mack attack: Khalil Mack registered his first sack of the season when he dropped Joe Flacco for a nine-yard loss early in the second quarter. The All-Pro outside linebacker now has 11 sacks in nine career games against the Broncos. His first eight contests came when he played for the Raiders.
Mack also drew two holding penalties against left tackle Garret Bolles.
Defensive lineman Nick Williams recorded the only other sack for the Bears.
This and that: Tight end Trey Burton made his 2019 debut after missing the season opener against the Packers with a groin injury, catching two passes for five yards ... The Bears improved to 4-1 in games immediately following a loss under coach Matt Nagy … Pat O'Donnell had a stellar game, registering a 57.4-yard gross average and a 50.4-yard net average on five punts, including a career-long 75-yarder … Trubisky improved his record against AFC opponents to 6-2, including 4-1 on the road … Tarik Cohen, who had two catches for seven yards, now has a reception in all 34 regular-season games he's played with the Bears … Robinson has now caught a pass in all 58 regular-season contests he's played with the Jaguars and Bears.
