Nov. 23--The play went nowhere. With 24 seconds left Sunday and the Bears needing a two-point conversion to tie the Broncos, rookie running back Jeremy Langford took a shotgun handoff from Jay Cutler, darted three steps forward and ran into a wall.
Broncos safety T.J. Ward, attacking from the back side, seemed to corral Langford first. Defensive end Derek Wolfe was also in the fray.
The Bears' explanation of what went awry? Well, that went nowhere either.
In the locker room after the Bears' 17-15 home loss, Langford revealed Cutler had seen something from the defense that convinced him to check to a run call at the line.
But Bears coach John Fox declined to offer specifics on the play design or where it failed.
"I'm not going to get into scheme or what we were doing schematically," Fox said. "Obviously it came up short."
Cutler, normally open and descriptive in recounting such situations, also buttoned up.
"I think Foxy covered it (as far as) scheme," he said. "We have a lot of options throughout this offense, on first, second and third downs. We had a play. We just didn't execute it the way we wanted to."
Whatever went wrong, that failed run sealed the Bears' sixth loss and overshadowed what had been yet another valiant late drive. Langford scored the last touchdown in the final minute -- coincidentally on a 2-yard run that came with significant push from the offensive line plus a determined burst up the middle by the young back.
That capped a six-play, 65-yard drive, a rally that began with Cutler dancing and shuffling to buy time for a 20-yard completion to Zach Miller. The Bears also bit off 18 yards on a pass-interference call against cornerback Bradley Roby on Martellus Bennett.
And just like in games against the Raiders, Chiefs, Lions and Chargers, the Bears offense delivered a clutch late score that put them in position to pull off an upset.
Instead, the Bears spent Sunday's postgame lamenting missed opportunities. The failed two-point conversion came two possessions after they failed on fourth-and-goal from the 4, eschewing a chip-shot field-goal attempt that could've made the score 17-12.
That decision left the Bears needing the two-point try after Langford's touchdown. But on an afternoon in which a dozen of the 22 rushes by Bears running backs went for 2 yards or fewer, the game's final run malfunctioned.
The Bears had receivers Marquess Wilson and Marc Mariani bunched to the left and Cameron Meredith alone to the right. When Cutler made his pre-snap check, Bennett motioned inside from the left. Yet as Bennett headed out into the pattern, Ward fired past him and into the backfield unblocked.
Right guard Patrick Omameh also failed to get any push up front. And Langford and the Bears' comeback efforts came up a yard short.
"It's up to me to be able to get into that end zone," Langford said. "As a group, we've got to get better in that situation."
At day's end, the Bears were left to process another near-miss.
dwiederer@tribpub.com
