Grossman comes off bench, helps Bears beat Lions
November 3, 2008
BY BRAD BIGGS Staff Reporter
At what cost did the Bears beat the woeful Detroit Lions 27-23 on Sunday? At this point, they don't know or they're not sharing.
Whatever price they end up paying, it beats the alternative, which was humiliation. Quarterback Kyle Orton, the catalyst in an offensive revival, will have his right ankle re-evaluated after being carted off the field in the second quarter. It's not believed to be broken after he went tumbling to the Lions' sideline underneath defensive linemen Cory Redding and Dewayne White, the latter bending Orton's ankle awkwardly. Orton was wearing a walking boot after the game, and he will have an MRI exam today
Multiple reports indicate Orton could miss a month with a high ankle sprain, but Bears spokesman Scott Hagel said nothing will be determined until after the MRI.
Then there is free safety Mike Brown, who made his first interception of the season in the first quarter but couldn't finish the half because of an injured right calf, a red flag considering his history.
But as gloomy as the injury report might look in a few days, the Bears (5-3) top the NFC North standings, having won four of their last five. They have a one-game lead over the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, who fell 19-16 in overtime at Tennessee. The undefeated Titans (8-0) come to town Sunday, and the Bears travel to Lambeau Field after that, making the next two weeks critical no matter who's at quarterback.
"It wasn't the cleanest win, it wasn't the prettiest win," cornerback Charles Tillman said. "We managed the win."
They also managed to make it much harder than it should have been. The Lions blitzed them for 23 points in the second quarter, the most points the Bears have allowed in a quarter since they set an NFL record in giving up 34 in the fourth quarter last year at Detroit.
The 0-8 Lions exist in the NFL's version of no-man's land. The general manager already has been axed, and the coaching staff can't be far behind.
That's what makes the team's effort at least laudable.
The Lions remain brutal from the outset, having been outscored 67-7 this season in the first quarter after falling behind 10-0 on Sunday, and their halftime adjustments are more like self-destruction plans. The Lions, who led 23-13 at the break, have been ahead at halftime in three of their last four games.
When Dan Orlovsky's 14-yard touchdown pass to Shaun McDonald put the the Lions ahead 20-10, the boo-birds were so intense that middle linebacker Brian Urlacher walked off the field with his arms up, urging the Soldier Field crowd to bring more. Defensive coordinator Bob Babich, out of the coaching box and back on the sidelines, lit into his players. They responded in the second half to shut down the little pitch-and-catch game Orlovsky had going with Calvin Johnson, who scored on a 17-yard pass and had eight catches for 94 yards. The Lions mustered all of four rushing yards in the second half.
"I was proud of how the defense stood up," coach Lovie Smith said.
If regrouping to stop the bleeding against the league's 29th-ranked offense is worthy of celebration, have at it. The victory was punctuated by Craig Steltz's interception in the end zone and Lance Briggs' strip and recovery, both in the fourth quarter.
Rex Grossman didn't save the day as much as he prevented an all-out disaster from happening. He looked out of sync, not surprising considering the backup doesn't do much when it comes to the first-team offense in practice other than watch. Grossman connected with Rashied Davis on a six-yard touchdown pass and scored on a one-yard plunge midway through the fourth quarter as
the Bears forged ahead. Running back Matt Forte ran for a career-high 126 yards as he finally got going, getting 101 of it in the second half against the league's second-worst run unit.
In all, it was just enough to squeeze by against a winless team the Bears spent all week pumping up.
"The media makes them out like they're awful," defensive end Alex Brown said. "They are an NFL team. They came here to win, and if we hadn't played the way we did in the second half, they very well could have."
Yes, a win is a win no matter how you dissect it, but the Bears will have to go to great lengths to find one uglier than this.
