In 2005, Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton had one heck of a rookie season. In 15 starts with Chicago, he helped lead the Bears to 10 wins, finishing first in the NFC North before losing to the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Division game. Individually, he wasn't all that impressive. He threw 13 picks, only recorded nine touchdowns and he was 13 incomplete passes away from having a completion percentage under 50%. Even his passer rating was very akilismithian.
Still, if a football team wins 10 games, which included a staunch defense, Thomas Jones telling Cedric Benson not so fast rookie, then you have to admit that at least your quarterback didn't lose games for you, right? Give him credit where it's due. More impressive, Orton's career record when starting is 21-12-0. He's never been dealt a losing record in any of his three seasons -- he's actually in his fifth year missing 2006.
And I'm sure that Orton remembers the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2005, the Bears and Bengals met. It was a miserable day on September 25, scattered showers and thunderstorms were in the area, with winds reaching 15 miles per hour from the south. The humidity was high and conditions were ripe for awesome passing in soggy conditions. Orton was the starting quarterback. And on four of the Bears' first seven possessions, Orton threw interceptions to Brian Simmons, Keiwan Ratliff, Tory James and Madieu Williams. Orton's first half was so miserable, you have to wonder where he ranks under the category "worst first half performances by a quarterback" in NFL history.
Att |
Comp |
Yards |
INT |
Rating |
11 |
4 |
31 |
4 |
5.3 |
The Bengals defense forced three punts, four interceptions and a missed field goal in the first half. We were hardly through. On the second possession in the second half, Deltha O'Neal caught Orton's fifth interception. They also forced three punts, a fumble, a turnover on downs and an accidental touchdown. OK, maybe not accidental, but it's definitely out of place. During the team's aberration playoff run, the Bears were one of three NFC North teams to be victimized by the Bengals defense. Culpepper. Five Interceptions. Brett Favre. Five interceptions -- even an unathletic fan forced Favre to lose the football. Furthermore, the Bengals blew away second place, recording 31 interceptions to the Bears' and Vikings' 24 interceptions on the year. What a year.
Does this have anything to do with a game four years later? Well, of course not. The Broncos aren't the Bears and maybe Orton is better. After all, he hasn't had a five-interception game since. Am I being unnecessarily nostalgic? Of course. So what. We're having a little fun, doing our part to remind Kyle Orton, who obviously comes to all related SB Nation sites, that the last time he played the Bengals, he played in the worst game of his career.