The Bears earned a much-needed victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. They showed resiliency, overcoming two Matt Forte fumbles, and they showed a lot of potential on offense and defense.
Here are three keys and three concerns:
1st key) A 29-game streak was snapped, when Jay Cutler wasn't sacked. His completion percentage wasn't great (18 of 32), but Cutler generated 208 passing yards, tossed tow touchdowns and he didn't have any turnovers. But Cutler endured some drops by his receivers, several in key situations. But he also completed a lot of important passes and avoided a couple of sticky situations with just enough shiftiness.
"Our tackles did a hell of a job, blocking two elite pass rushers," Bears center Roberto Garza said. "All credit goes to those guys."
2nd key) The Bears defense prevented big plays. Yes, LeSean McCoy dodged Major Wright, en route to a 33-yard touchdown. But, for the most part, the Bears did a nice job limiting the big plays of a very, very explosive Eagles offense, one that entered the game No. 1 in the NFL. Michael Vick's longest pass was 31 yards, and his longest run was just 11 yards. Big-play receiver DeSean Jackson's longest catch yielded just 10 yards.
"I guess they try to do everything in their power to not let us run on the field and not make those big plays that we have made over the years," Jackson said. "I have to find a way to make it happen and get through it."
3rd key) The Bears weathered the expected storm. They did what they were supposed to, getting off to a fast start. They set the tone early. But a 10-0 quickly disappeared, and they actually trailed 24-17 in the third quarter. But the Bears remained composed, scoring the final 13 points. They did catch somewhat of a break, when rookie Chas Henry faked a punt and tossed the ball toward a wide-open Colt Anderson. But, Henry -- a former high school quarterback -- badly underthrew the ball. It didn't cost the Eagles any points but did give the Bears the ball back at their own 42-yard line.
"It's very seldom that you have a guy completely uncovered out there," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "We had a chance to make a big play, so that was the decision made. We didn't execute it quite right."
1st concern) Matt Forte clearly vented about his contract situation last week, and he fumbled twice -- losing both -- against the Eagles. He did, however, have 133 rushing yards. Will this become a bigger issue or distraction?
To hear general manager Jerry Angelo, though, a contract doesn't appear to be coming anytime soon. Angelo told WBBM-AM 780 before the game: "Matt was the only player we targeted and we made him, in my opinion, a very lucrative offer and it wasn't able to get done. Our intent is still to have Matt play the bulk of his years in Chicago and we'll just have to wait and see. We always have a plan in place and we will continue to talk. "Is there something imminent? No. But we're always planning and trying to create options."
2nd concern) Receiver Devin Hester had a rough day, catching just one of the five passes intended for him and averaging just 10 yards per kickoff return. He did have a 19-yard punt return, though. Hester left the game midway through the fourth quarter with a left ankle injury. He walked off the field gingerly but suggested afterward he would be fine.
"He came out of it in pretty good shape," Smith said of Hester.
3rd concern) The Bears face another must-win game, this one against the Detroit Lions. Monday's game was important, in the big picture, because the Eagles have the talent to be an NFC wildcard contender. This win gives the Bears an edge over the Eagles. Now, though, the Bears have to beat the Lions, to close that gap, since they are currently in third place in the NFC North.
"Every game is big and this one was really a big one for us and we need to beat Detroit next weekend," Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said.
Game ball goes to... Bears receiver Earl Bennett. Jay Cutler had a very nice game, as did linebacker Brian Urlacher and Zack Bowman, who forced the fumble on the Jackson punt return. But Bennett was out the last five games, with what the club described as a chest injury, and he returned in a big way with five catches for 95 yards, including a touchdown. Bennett, though, hauled in three catches on third down for 68 yards.
Was it me, or did the talking heads on ESPN seem to be rooting for Philly last night on Monday night countdown? It was almost like I was watching ESPN Philadelphia last night? Give me a break, the Eagles put it to Dallas the week before, wow. Mike Vick has become a better passer, wow. I swear, a team looks pretty on offense the week before and these guys are ready to call them the 2nd best team in the NFC, before the game that is. Oh well, the only guy on their crew that really matters, Mike Ditka, picked the Bears.
Sean, I hope your not insinuating that Matt Forte put the ball on the ground on purpose because of his contract issues? I doubt that, the views of him on the sideline, after the second fumble when they sat him for a little while, to me, you could see he wasn't happy with himself. It is something Forte is gonna have to fix, but he was due to put the ball on the ground. Like Urlacher said after the game, he's a football player, football players fumble. If Forte is still putting the ball on the ground 2 weeks from now, we have a problem, but I doubt it.
My game ball goes to Chicago's corners, Charles Tillman, Tim Jennings, and DJ Moore, for the way they were getting physical with the Eagle receivers, and the way they stepped up in man coverage, which they were in a lot last night. I gotta also give a shout out to right tackle Lance Louis, he had a heck of a game and I seen him put a couple defenders on the ground. Oh yeah, we also found out Earl Bennett is the best receiver on this team, why? His hands, Roy Williams and Devin Hester need to take notes on how Bennett gets the job done. Oh well, good win now bring on the Lions GO BEARS!!
I have to give Lovie credit (something I rarely like to do). The Bears were ready and had a game plan. It looked like they actually put some thought into how to attack an opponent instead of their usual "we do what we do" game plan. I also really liked how he benched Forte for a bit after the second fumble. It's about time Lovie showed some tough love. Other thoughts:
The more I see of him, the more I like Lance Louis.
Got to give it up for the O-line. Any team in the league would take a performance like that.
Major Wright should change his name to Minor Wright. He does a few good things, but not much. That "whiff on a tackle that leads to a big touchdown" is going to become his trademark play. On a related note, could Conte play any deeper?
Memo to Loive: this is what you get with Hester as a receiver - no production and an injury. Stop the madness.
Overall a good win by the Bears, but it would still be nice to see them put a team away. Once again, even though the Bears mostly dominated the Eagles were in a position to win at the end. A touchdown instead of a field goal by the Bears on their last drive would have been nice. That and some third down stops by the defense.
Good stuff, Sean. Though Detroit has had their bye. In fact, they just had it this past week.
Super post! Just like your blog professionalism! Keep up the good work.
Game balls go to the O-line and Cutler, with punt/kick coverage and defensive pursuit getting honorable mention. Also, I agree, zero sacks and the prevention of big plays on defense were huge.
The defense mixed it up well and got away from the predictable cover 2 only looks, but my main concern lies with play calling on offense. Whether the Bears are up 10 points or trailing Martz is so quick to abandon the run, even though the opponent cannot stop it. You put a lot of pressure on your own defense (as well as a relatively unproven O-line) when you continue to pass despite having the lead. Conversely, if you can continue to run (and it was working) and control the clock you apply that pressure to their offense (note: see Vick's performance in the 4th qtr when trailing).
Looking back at the first half of the season, I think they have emerged with a pretty good record. In fact, if you told me at the beginning of the season the Bears would play ATL, NO, GB, DET and Philly (among others) and would come away with 5 wins I would have said you were crazy.
Also, I think the Bears have a favorable schedule for the second half of the season, especially compared to GB and DET. In fact, favorable might be an understatement. Out of 8 remaining games, the Bears still have the entire AFC West and Seattle to play. They avoid playing in KC, SEA and DET, three of the most difficult venues in the NFL. They have key wins over potential wildcard contenders ATL and TB. So, if they can stay healthy and continue to build on what they have, the playoffs seem likely. Extrapolating the current standings, that would mean a wildcard matchup against NYG or the winner of the NFC South (ATL or NO).
Anyway, nice post, Sean. I look forward to reading more of your stuff as the playoff picture unfolds.
Good stuff Sean.
Key #1: I agree with Garza. Lance Louis' best position may be guard, but he can sure play right tackle. He is doing it with real good feet too, as opposed to mauling them with shear power. This is going to be interesting as the year plays out if Carimi gets healthy.
If you want to hear a wild thought, Louis' skillset may fit the best at left tackle.
Key #2: To take it another step, Jackson is in denial. The Bears did avoid giving big plays to the Eagles, but it wasn't by sitting back in zone. They played some cover 2, but also played a lot of man coverage on the Eagles.
That is big. The Bears are not supposed to have the horsepower at corner to man up on Philly. But they did.
Concern #2: Hester was supposed to struggle. We have to remember the context on wide recevier production last night. Philly is supposed to have the dream team on the back half of their defense and the Bears are supposed to struggle at wide out. If you start from there, they did pretty good. We talked about Roy Williams last week and I still think he is a key. Seems like he had about 3 for 50. That's enough to matter, but it should have been about 6 for 80 and a touchdown. I keep wondering if he still has another step he can take with Cutler, or if what we see is what we get?
Zack Bowman? He played? I saw Graham force a fumble and I have no idea who broke covereage on the Eagles gunners on the fake punt.
What I don't get are some of those reciever combinations.
I think the Forte fumbles were just guys being in the right place at the right time, more of a blip on the Radar.
Not as impressed with the line as a lot of people. I thought Webb had his best game of the year and Louis was decent. Davis looked like he had a heck of a game blocking. Did not enjoy seeing Omiyale out there.
I thought Tillman had a strong game, Briggs had a strong game, Urlacher had a good game but kinda blew coverage a few times in the third. Was not impressed with the Safety play, both Safeties blew tackles but when Conte plays you basically have 10 men on the field he is 20 yards off the line and back peddling.
Was not overly impressed with the D-Line, Vick had a lot of time and a lot of drops. Thought Melton played the run well but did nothing in pass rush.
Don't take this the wrong way but the way the Eagles were playing it should have been a blowout. The Bears did flash strong play multiple times but then would do something strange or bad.
Martz once again had a series where he just goes retarded, Wildcat? Really? Again?
Jay yelled at Sanz after another drop, hope Pompei is okay, I wonder if we get another article about the Doe eyed Sanz again.
On the Oline I thought Webb had a good game, and Louis was solid. But the interior did not play nearly as well. The run blocking consists of the ability to run one play. Missle screen right. But on most of the other running plays it was Forte or Barber making people miss or breaking tackles. Davis had a good game blocking, really helped out in the run game. Spencer was bad all around. Cutler also did a lot of making people miss and buying time with his feet. Again they still need to many guys to block and can't run a full offense. I'll say this about Louis he is better at Tackle than guard but that kinda leaves him without a job when Carimi gets back. Then again if Spencer plays like last night he will be back at RG where he is not good.
5 missed tackles on the night for the Bears D.
Really impressed with the Bears ability to overcome some mistakes like the Fumbles. But the fake punt could have been a disaster.
I thought Gruden did a good job last night, he gets caught up in being goofey but when just breaks down and talks about the game down he really says some and sees some good stuff.
Bad news for next week, the Bears are going Clockwork Orange this week and breaking out the Pumpkin express.
For the most part the Bears made their own luck last night.
Sean are we gonna see Bennett start for Hester? I don't care if he is healthy or not, one guy is a reciever another guy is a returner. I want the reciever to have the recieving job.
Great win!
I see the Bears going minimum 5-3 the rest of the way. The 3 tough games are against Det, SD and GB. If GB has a loss by the time they play the Bears on Christmas, they may rest their starters for that game. Detroit looks vulnerable in the form of Matthew Stafford. He can be rattled. And Rivers can be a turnover machine.
Denver, Oakland, Seattle, and Minnesota are terrible. The Bears should beat all 4 of those teams.
The key this week against Detroit, will be to repeatedly hit Matthew Stafford. They have no RB in Detroit now with Best being out with a concussion. They should play bump n run coverage on Megatron with a safety over the top every play. Make Stafford throw to Nate Burleson.
My early prediction is Bears 24 Lions 14.
Hands down, Earl Bennett is the only professional receiver on the roster. He is not going to make anyone forget that we need a true #1 wideout, but you can hear it in the way Cutler talked about him after the game. He is the only guy Cutler believes will be in the right place at the right time, and will go get the ball when it is in the air. No body-catching (Knox), no lazy basket catch that goes right through the basket (Williams), and actually understanding how to run a route and get open (Hester).
Bennett needs to be on the field for as much of the game as he can manage, and you will continue to see 1st downs. The guy can play. You put a weapon on the other side who can also run routes, and this offense is drastically different than what it has been.
McCoy made Urlacher, Wright, Conte, and probably 3 or 4 others that I forgot about look plain awful with his lateral quickness. I wouldn't crucify Wright just yet. But, he is not doing what he is supposed to be doing, which is preventing big plays. That does not bode well.
If Lance Louis continues to hold down the fort on the right side, I would be fine with Carimi coming back in place of Webb, who is still terrible without help on his side. Louis is also getting lots of help, but he at least seems to be able to move his feet with the guy he is blocking instead of what Webb does, which is set his feet and lunge for the guy. Carimi could be a serviceable LT for the rest of this season, and could be a starter there if they let him.
The road to the playoffs for the BEARS goes through the AFC WEST....Whoever has the better record between the BEARS and Lions against the AFC WEST will get in playoffs.......
Hey, Mr. Williams, this week's game is a must win for the BEARS, beat Detroit and they put themselves in solid position to get to back in the playoffs. lose this game and it's a long uphill battle to get in...Go BEARS
Almost forgot the single high safety man corners the Bears threw out there. Nice play calling, and everyone is talking about some of the new offensive plays that were on display last night, more side to side stuff, Cutler being allowed to move around, more counters, using Cutler athletic ability better, less rigid crappy Martz 5 wide, 5 deep breaking routs. Good game plan, and the Bears played hard. Louis played real hard, he's not real talented but I think on one play he actually bit Trent Cole. If Webb played with that kinda mean streak, you would have something at left tackle. They keep it simple like this and keep doing what the offense and defense can do instead of what they want to do, maybe Carimi could get by at LT and Louis at RT. Don't put him back at guard, he is not a guard, despite his build. Quick feet plays like a tackle would probably be really good in a Zone, he is not an inside mauler he will not drive block 330 pound NT's out of there, but against 260 pound 270 pound ends, he is a good matchup. Besides you don't reward effort and solid play by benching the kid or putting him at guard which is just putting him in a position to fail.
Holy comma, Jensen! Do you need a copy editor or what?
The Bears have improved and look pretty good right now with potential to make the playoffs, lets see how they play against Detroit, that game should be a good one. It the Bears beat Detroit then the Bears are in a very good situation.
In my opinion Cutler had a great game, he also played a very smart game and showed some great leadership characteristics which I have questioned in the past. My hope is that Cutler will take this team to where he is capable to take it; a Super Bowl win. Cutler can do so if his game play and keen mind keep him from making critical mistakes and the team continues to improve performance at all positions moving into the future games and playoffs.
Kudos to the team for coming back in a tough venue and pulling out the win. Sean, I liked your article about JC, although it appears that you may be having a bromance with Jay.
Defense looked pretty good overall and yes I agree with Kevin about the corners play but also the play of the d line to create pressure certainly was present and Cutler and the O line showed up well in a tough place like Philly.
A very good win indeed.
Very nice post Sean. I know journalists like to sell the sizzle of every game but I wouldn't define the Lions game as a "must win game". The Bears will almost certainly need to win the next 5 of 8 games to get in the playoffs, so the only must win game would be when they're sitting at 6 losses several weeks from now.
There are times that it feels like "anyone but the Bears" listening to talking heads. I had a hard time keeping my dinner down every time I heard a reference to how the Eagles beat the Cowboys. Excuse me, but It is not like the Cowboys have been playings super. Check out where three of their four wins came from.
The bears played one of the best games ive seen and really schemed.. I like the way the lovie boat is doing abit of tough love..
devin hester " you are ridiculous" to quote jeff joniak but he is not a reciever.. maybe on some special trick plays but he seems to drop balls at crucial times every game and I think that experiment should end!!
maybe they should try him at corner back
kudos to the bears d offensive line and jay cutler.. great game!!
now lets tame some lions sunday! bear down !!
hmmmm
I think this was Lpvie Smith's BEST game since being instated as head coach
I really liked his handling of the players of late, and that he has been more outspoken
It give me the feeling that he is more in the NOW----as in, we need to win NOW
NOT next year, because we have to forgive that Jerry Angelo didin't take car of biz in the off season, and get veteran O-line help, and a big wide receiver (Roy Williams may YET prove he finally gets the fact that the Bears are the "last house on the blovk" for him
either he will do all he can to make himself his personal best NOW, or he is done, and out of the league next year----he certainly has had enough chances---for that matter, so had Jerry Angelo---TOO many for my taste----the Bears will be a great team once he is gone---unttil then, he will keep handicapping them with his inept picks, short sightedness,
and attitude of self righteous indignation when questioned about his oversights
BUT---Mike Tice made a cohesive line appear when it looked very doubtful it was possible----but if Jerry hed gotten it right in the off season, we would have at least 2 more wins currently---GO BEARS!!!
I think it was corey graham that forced the fumble.
You know what has happened is Martz has gotten rid of the Martz offense. Thank god, but looking at the offensive plays being called Martz has basically been forced to put his players to suceed rather than further his legacy. All across the league we see offenses that do what is best for their players rather than run a rigid scheme. Gone are the 5 reciever sets and seven step routs, gone is the pre snap motion and shifting, gone is the stay in the pocket mentality and gone is the hanging your line out to dry by trying to force them to block 4 second routs with 5 men. Now you have max protect, shotgun, a full back lead blocking for Forte which is unheard of in a Martz offense, roll outs and sprint outs, a moving pocket at times, 5 step drops, quick drops, simplified blocking scheme. Get rid of the wildcat and his Brain cramps and you might have something. Cutler is better on the move, the line needed help, Forte runs better with a fullback.
You are right. That's what it said in the play-by-play, though (that Bowman got it).