LeGere: Bears all alone atop NFC North after win over Lions

[Xee]

Bears all alone atop NFC North after win over Lions

By Bob LeGere | Daily Herald Staff
11/2/2008 3:50 PM | Updated: 11/2/2008 11:51 PM

For the first three quarters of Sunday's Bears-Lions game at Soldier Field it was difficult to figure out which team was winless and which was in first place in the NFC North.

Even after the Bears made just enough big plays to escape with a 27-23 victory, there didn't seem to be a huge difference between the two teams.

That's bad news for a Bears team that is all alone atop the division at 5-3 but faces back-to-back games against the undefeated Tennessee Titans at home and then at Green Bay against the Packers, who are a game behind them in the NFC North.

The first half ended with the Bears trailing the 0-8 Lions 23-13 and without starting quarterback Kyle Orton, arguably their most valuable player through the first half of the season, who suffered an injury to his right ankle.

That brought on Rex Grossman, who hadn't thrown a pass in a regular-season game since Dec. 6 and had played briefly in just one game this season.

But even with a rusty Grossman showing the ill-effects of inactivity, the Bears' offense managed a pair of second-half touchdowns, and the defense kept the Lions off the scoreboard for the final 30 minutes to eke out a win.

"When we had to shut them out defensively and we had to get some points with our offense, we were able to step up," coach Lovie Smith said. "It was important for Rex to come in and do some of the things that he was able to do."

The Bears, not surprisingly, refused to provide any details on Orton's injury. He was carted off the field after scrambling for no gain and having Lions 295-pound defensive tackle Cory Redding land on top of him.

"Kyle Orton has an ankle injury," Smith revealed. "That's about all I can say right now about it."

An Internet report called the injury a high ankle sprain and said Orton would be out for a month.

Grossman completed just 9 of 19 passes for 58 yards and a subpar 49.9 passer rating.

But he fired a dart over the middle to Rashied Davis for a 6-yard TD midway through the third quarter that cut the Lions' lead to 23-20.

After 5 punts, 3 of them by the Lions, and a turnover by each team, the Bears scored the game-winner on Grossman's 1-yard sneak, which was set up by 3 Matt Forte runs totaling 40 yards.

Grossman did not have the benefit of any practice reps with the Bears' first-team offense during the week.

"I was (Lions quarterback) Dan Orlovsky all week," Grossman said of his duties running the scout team for the benefit of the Bears' defense.

"I just kind of had to memorize the game plan and go through it and pay attention. "It's not easy to just sit there for an hour-and-a-half not thinking you're going to play at all and then, boom, be brought into the mix."

If Orton misses any games, Grossman will at least have the benefit of working exclusively with the first team in practice.

"With reps, he'll get better," said Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner, "but overall I thought he did a really nice job stepping in there."

Between their second-half touchdowns, the Bears got their biggest defensive play from rookie safety Craig Steltz, who was thrust into the fray after Mike Brown suffered a calf injury late in the first half.

With the Lions at the Bears' 19 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and threatening to pad their 23-20 lead, Steltz picked off an Orlovsky pass a yard deep in the end zone and returned it 44 yards before a penalty moved it back.

"They were driving, and we had to get a turnover," Steltz said of his first interception as a pro. "We couldn't give up any more points. As a defense, we had to go out there and make some turnovers and get the ball back to our offense. I just came up with a big play in the end zone."

After the Bears took the lead, the defense did the rest, forcing a three-and-out and then getting its third takeaway when Lance Briggs forced and recovered a fumble by Lions tight end Michael Gaines at the Bears' 44.

The victory wasn't secured until the clock wound down with the Lions at the Bears' 32 after 3 incompletions by Orlovsky, who was on fire in the first half, completing 14 of 18 for 140 yards, 2 TDs and a passer rating of 113.0.

Brown's first interception of the season - and his first since the 2007 season opener, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury - led to Robbie Gould's 36-yard field goal to open the scoring.

Orton's first NFL rushing touchdown, a 5-yard scamper around left end on third-and-goal, gave the Bears a 10-0 lead with 4:32 left in the first quarter.

After that, the Lions scored 20 straight points and a total of 23 in the second quarter before the Bears mounted their comeback.

[DaDitka]

It's nice to have a little cushion a-top the division with Kyle out for a while.

It will be interesting to see if they try to rush him back for the Nov, 30th Sunday night game against Minnesota since it’s a division game.