Broncos seal overtime success

Matt Prater’s 51-yard field goal six minutes into overtime gave the Denver Broncos a 13-10 victory over the Chicago Bears.

Prater’s 59-yarder with three seconds left in regulation tied the score after Tim Tebow had led another rally.

It was Denver’s sixth straight win and seventh in eight games since Tebow, dubbed the “Mile High Messiah,” was promoted to starter.

After failing to score on their first dozen possessions, the Broncos (8-5) erased a 10-0 deficit in the final 2:08 of regulation.

Precious

Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas with a 10-yard TD pass, then got the ball back with 53 seconds left after Marion Barber saved the Broncos precious time by going out of bounds when the Bears were trying to run out the clock.

Denver was out of timeouts after Thomas’ touchdown and had to try an onside kick, which the Broncos couldn’t recover.

But on second down after the two-minute warning, Barber cut outside and was pushed out, stopping the clock.

The Bears would have to punt, and Tebow got the ball back at his 20 and went to work, not needing to go far with Prater’s strong leg in the thin air.

He drove the Broncos 39 yards for Prater’s kick, which he rocketed through the uprights.

The Bears (7-6) won the toss in overtime and quickly got into field goal range before Barber, who rushed for 108 yards but will be remembered for his two late mistakes, coughed up the football at the Broncos 34, and Elvis Dumervil recovered.

Barber had already broken through the first line of defense for the first down when linebacker Wesley Woodyard reached out and grabbed his right arm, popping the ball loose.

Delirium

Tebow took the Broncos from their 34 to the Chicago 33, and Prater sent the stadium into delirium.

Tebow, who also led the Broncos to wins in OT at Miami and San Diego, ran 12 times for 49 yards and completed 21 of 40 passes for a season-best 236 yards.

Hanie completed 12 of 19 passes for 115 yards and was sacked four times.

The Bears also were without star running back Matt Forte, who’s out indefinitely with a knee injury. His replacement, Barber, broke a scoreless tie in the third quarter with a nine-yard touchdown run.

He also gained 16 yards on a screen pass from Hanie on third-and-27 on the final play of the third quarter, setting up Robbie Gould’s team-record 57-yard field goal.