PRO FOOTBALL : Broncos Have Work Cut Out for Them Tonight

The Denver Broncos, in desperate need of a victory to maintain their hopes of a second straight Super Bowl trip, will try tonight to do something NFL teams have had a hard time doing lately--get in front of the Chicago Bears and stay there.

Over the last three weeks the NFC Central-leading Bears have fallen behind Tampa Bay by 20, Kansas City by 14 and Green Bay by 8, but have rallied to win all three games. That has given them a 7-1 record and a comfortable advantage in search of their fourth straight division title. Denver (4-3-1) is coming off an unexpected road loss to Buffalo.

Denver needs to see better numbers than quarterback John Elway produced last week in the 21-14 loss to Buffalo.

Elway, hero of Denver’s march to the AFC title last year, completed just 13 of 30 passes last week for 163 yards. His first-half statistics (1 of 9 for 4 yards) were his lowest since early in his pro career.

Nevertheless, the Broncos come into the meeting with Chicago averaging 365 yards per game in total offense.

For Chicago quarterback Jim McMahon, it will be a rare Monday night appearance. He has started only one other Monday night game, a 23-7 win over Green Bay in 1985 that introduced William Perry to NFL audiences.