Bears Blitz

Published by Jake Perper on November 8, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Bears improved to 5-3 after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 30-24 on Monday Night Football.

The defense contained Michael Vick all night long, improving to 4-0 all-time against him when he starts.

The Bears offense started off fast driving down the field and finishing it off with a five-yard touchdown pass to TE Matt Spaeth.

Taking a 7-0 lead into the second quarter, they added to the lead with 51-yard field goal from Robbie Gould.

The Eagles finally got on the board with roughly two minutes left in the first half with a field goal from rookie kicker Alex Henery.

The Bears offense got the ball and started to drive down the field, but made a huge mistake.

RB Matt Forte caught a screen pass and lost the ball, and Eagles linebacker Brian Rolle took full advantage by returning it 22 yards for a touchdown.

The fumble by Forte was his first since Week 7 of last season. The Eagles’ defensive score tied the game at 10, but the Bears took advantage of an Eagles’ mistake with less than a minute left in the half.

The last two minutes of the half were hectic to say the least, but speedy return man DeSean Jackson got the ball stripped from him by Bears special teams ace Corey Graham on a punt return.

That mishap set the Bears up for an easy score, Marion Barber was able to run the ball in from the 2-yard line to put the Bears up 17-10.

The score was very controversial however. Eagles DE Jason Babin was called for roughing the passer on a 3rd-and-goal, but after the flag was picked up the replay showed he was innocent.

Bears right guard Chris Spencer pushed Babin into Cutler and it looked like Cutler faked the below-the-waist hit that the refs called Babin for. The Bears took advantage of that mistake by the referees and took a one-touchdown lead into halftime.

The Bears contained Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy for the most part in the first half, but the second half started off pretty solid for the Eagles.

Vick led his offense down the field and backup running back Ronnie Brown punched the ball in the end zone from the 4-yard line. Roughly three minutes later, Eagles running back LeSean McCoy scampered into an end zone again moving them up by seven points, 24-17.

The reason they were able to score so quickly was because Bears running back Matt Forte fumbled a second time. He was initially ruled down, but the call was overturned after a challenge by the Eagles.

The game was 24-20 at the end of the third quarter. The Bears put together arguably their best drive of the season which ended with Jay Cutler finding wide receiver Earl Bennett in the back of the end zone for a five-yard touchdown.

Bennett returned to the field for the first time since Week 2 and he put together a great performance. He reeled in five passes for 95 yards and caught the go-ahead touchdown. He was a key target for Cutler on third down all night long.

The Eagles started to drive down the field after that but their drive stalled. They looked to be punting on 4th-and-8, when rookie punter Chas Henry threw a pass to special teams player Colt Anderson.

The pass was short and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs. The Bears drove down the field and put a field goal on the board with about four minutes left in the game. With the score 30-24, the Eagles put together an impressive drive.

On 4th-and-10 from the Bears’ 39, Vick dropped back and found a wide open Jeremy Maclin, but he fell short of the first down mark. The pass was a little too high for Maclin to get up field.

The Bears took over, but were forced to punt after not being able to run for a first down. The Eagles had one last shot with nine seconds left, but Vick couldn’t heave it 67 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Final Thoughts:

Coming into the game as eight-point favorites, the Eagles seemed sure to win, but the Bears outplayed them in every area of the game.

Devin Hester was contained on special teams, but didn’t make the mistake that Eagles return man DeSean Jackson did, fumbling the ball.

The Bears’ pass rush provided more hits on Eagles QB Mike Vick compared to the Eagles’ pass rush on Jay Cutler. Cutler wasn’t sacked a single time last night by a vicious defensive line.

Jay Cutler was able to post a 98.6 QB rating in this game, while Vick posted a 60.5 QB rating.

Cutler has been sacked only six times the past four games. RB Matt Forte averaged 5.5 yards per carry, while rushing for 133 yards.

Linebacker Brian Urlacher led all Bears defenders in tackles with 10, while safety Major Wright made his first career interception. The interception came off of Lance Briggs’s hands early in the first half.

Bears cornerbacks Tim Jennings and Charles Tillman contained the Eagles’ speedy receivers Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson.

D.J. Moore keeps making plays, nearly picking off a pass in the second half.

What’s next?

The Bears will play their next two games at home. This Sunday however, is against NFC North rival Detroit, who sits one game ahead at 6-2. Consistency needs to be shown on Sunday for the Bears to keep their three-game winning streak going.

Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. He is also the Chicago Bears writer for NFLTouchdown.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.

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