Brandon Marshall only spent three seasons with the Chicago Bears. Still, the former Pro Bowler made the count. He was electric during that span, becoming a force at the position this organization has rarely seen in its long history. That by itself should be appreciated, even if some people soured on Marshall’s often erratic personality. One thing people can’t deny is the guy’s commitment. He pushed himself hard during his run in Chicago, constantly putting himself through some painful moments to help the team win games.
That includes the best performance of his entire Bears run. Fans will remember it well. Chicago went to San Francisco to play the 49ers in 2014. This was a team that had just gone to a third straight NFC championship game. It felt that way in the first half as the 49ers built a 17-0 lead. The Bears looked dead in the water. Then Marshall made one of the great catches in team history, a twisting one-hander in the end zone to get his team on the board. He would finish with three touchdowns that night, helping spark a furious rally to cement a 28-20 victory.
What people never knew about that game was that Marshall was high. He told the story to Dr. Mikhail “Mike” Varshavski on his YouTube channel.
Brandon Marshall was many things. Undedicated isn’t one of them.
He put himself in a very dangerous situation by taking so many dangerous drugs at the same time to get himself in a position to play. His commitment can’t be questioned. At the same time, it reflects how concerning the NFL drug culture was in years past. Marshall discussed how the league began to crack down on a rampant pill culture over the past decade. It has led to much greater player safety. This story is a reminder of what guys put their bodies through to play every Sunday.
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It is okay for Bears fans to question how Brandon Marshall conducted himself off the field at times. It was warranted. However, this story should reflect that for all the headaches he brought; the guy never gave less than 100% on gameday. Anytime you watch one of his great performances in that era, be sure to remember the sacrifices he made. The team never forced him to do those things. He did it because he wanted to win.
Brandon is just lucky he didn’t become addicted. There is no reason for partaking in the devil’s lettuce. None.
He was very open about his mental health issues during his time with the Bears and he raised awareness for it. Not a single fan that I can remember, criticized Brandon for his off the field behaviors.
I was at this game. Behind the endzone that the bears scored in on each one of their Td’s!
I knew they would win the game when our defense stood their ground and kept it from getting out of hand in the 1st half. 🐻⬇️