Bears Blitz

Published by Kevin Jones on September 28, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Wow! Has Monday Night Football been amazing thus far? After another great game, the Chicago Bears came away with a late game-winning field goal to seal their 20-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers. 

Nabeel and I at www.boldsportstalk.com both picked Chicago to win this game. We watched the game together and decided to split this blog post. I had Chicago winning this one, but Green Bay representing the NFC in the Super Bowl. 

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears leading rusher in their Monday Night Football upset over the Packers was quarterback Jay Cutler. I agree it’s kind of alarming how the Bears semi-mobile quarterback led the rushing attack with 37 yards.

But Chicago’s stingiest defense in years was able to overcome a so-so offensive performance from Mike Martz. The defensive hog-molly’s made plays and shut down the NFC’s top offense

The Packers aren’t the first victim of Chicago’s blue collar, slap you in the mouth defense. The Dallas run game couldn’t solve Lovie Smith’s schemes and knack for creating turnovers. Urlacher’s nine tackles and forced fumble, a Lance Briggs interception, and Devin Hester’s elusive third quarter punt return all contributed to this win.

Add in Julius Peppers to that mix, and this sort of success has a 2006 sort of feeling, when Chicago raced past New Orleans into Super Bowl XLI.

No, I’m not anointing Chicago as the prime cut of the NFC yet. But let’s play the speculating game. I say the Bears bite the bullet and get Vincent Jackson—a weapon for now and the future—plus a guy who could push Cutler over the edge of stardom. That would commit this organization to winning right now. 

Let’s speculate even further down the road. The Bears play at the New York Giants, at Carolina, Seattle, and Washington. Something smells to me like Chicago could be at 7-0 heading into their Week Eight bye. That record could ensure Chicago of at least a Wild Card, even with a second half collapse.  

Cutler threw a couple of interceptions that were called back on penalty flags. But at the end of the day, the Bears won.

Visit www.boldsportstalk.com for all the latest sports opinions.

Green Bay Packers

What I Liked:  Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers showed off his mobility inside the pocket and when he scrambled. He threw lightning speed darts to his receivers and looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the league. They have a lot of weapons in the passing game.

The Packers defense did a solid job besides the stupid penalties that kept nipping at their feet. You got to love the non-stop motor and intensity that Clay Matthews brings to the defense, even though he didn’t record a sack. 

What I Didn’t Like: Seventeen penalties for 152 yards, two of which occurred on the game-winning drive for the Chicago Bears. You can’t win games being that undisciplined.  Also James Jones’ fumble with 2:18 left of the clock and the march down the field.  Jones needs to know which hand to hold the ball with.

Last thought, in this situation:

-With 1:44 left in the game.

-One timeout for the Packers.

-Ball game at 17 a piece.

-Chicago with first-and-goal on the 9-yard line.

The Packers decided to buckle up and try to stop the Bears.  My question is, if you have that much time left with only one timeout, should you consider letting the opposing team score a touchdown so you can try to come back and tie the ball game with more time on the clock? 

Or, do what the Packers did, knowing they were pretty much guaranteed to score the game-winner and have little time to get the ball back? 

Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com