Bears Continue to Roll, Eagles Fall Flat

The Chicago Bears are starting to look like the defending NFC North champions that they are. Monday night, the Bears (5-3) went into the City of Brotherly Love and clipped the wings of the Philadelphia Eagles in a 30-24 victory. This is Chicago’s third consecutive win, which puts them one game behind the second-place Detroit Lions in the division.

Quarterback Jay Cutler once again put up solid numbers by connection on 18 of his 32 pass attempts for 208 yards and two touchdowns. The only thing that was better than Cutler’s performance was the play of the offensive line.

The o-line that is anchored by center Roberto Garza, who just received a two-year contract extension, didn’t give up a single sack against the Eagles’ defense. The o-line also was dominant in run blocking.

Potential MVP candidate Matt Forte ran for 133 yards on 24 carries and added 17 more yards receiving yards to his league leading 1,241 total yards from scrimmage. In addition, Forte is second in the NFL in rushing through the first nine weeks of the season with 805 yards, and is the only player in the league this season with at least 800 yards rushing and 400 hundred yards receiving.

> Find Chicago Bears jerseys & hats online through Pro Football Fans for all your team gear!

The only downfall for Forte in Monday night’s game was his two costly fumbles. The first one came in the final two minutes of the first half, which resulted in a 22-yard return for a touchdown by Eagles rookie linebacker Brian Rolle. The other was midway in the third quarter and resulted in Philly scoring on a 33-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy on the ensuing drive.

The biggest surprise of the game was the performance of wide receiver Earl Bennett. After missing playing time due to a chest injury sustained in Week 2, Bennett seemed to have not missed a beat in the scheme of things and chipped in with a team-high five catches for a game-high 95 yards and the game-winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Despite the long touchdown run by McCoy, the defense held the league’s leading rusher to only 71 yards, and did a great job of containing the elusive Michael Vick. Second-year safety Major Wright recorded his first career interception in the first quarter, which was Chicago’s only takeaway of the game.

Linebacker Brian Urlacher was all over the field totaling a team-high 11 tackles, while defensive end Julius Peppers recorded the team’s only sack after briefly leaving the game with an injury.

Things are looking better and better for the Chicago Bears as the weeks roll along. A few weeks ago, Chicago was 2-3 and far from looking like a team that could contend for a playoff spot. Now, if the playoffs started today, the Bears would be a wildcard team. Chicago will get a chance to get a step closer to getting that playoff spot this week when they host the 6-2 Detroit Lions.

By Clyde Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent