Chicago beats Detriot in comeback fashion

Despite being outscored in the second quarter 23-3, the Chicago Bears were resilient enough to overcome and pull out a comeback 27-23 victory over the now 0-8 Detroit Lions. With the help of the Green Bay Packers losing to the Tennessee Titans, the Bears (5-3) now have sole possession of first place in the NFC North.

The big story on offense was the injury to Kyle Orton late in the second quarter. While scrambling to the sideline, a Detroit defender landed on the ankle of the former Purdue Boilermaker, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the game. Before the injury, Orton did manage to throw for 108 yards and run in a touchdown from five yards out. The status of Orton’s high ankle sprain is still to be determined. In the second half, the stage was set for Rex Grossman to take over. Other than throwing an interception, which was tipped at the line of scrimmage, Grossman showed his poise by managing the game and making the right decisions while completing nine out of 19 pass attempts for 58 yards and a touchdown. But late in the game, it was the running of rookie Matt Forte that put the Bears in position to take the lead for good. The second-round draft pick ran for a career-high 126 yards on 22 carries. Forte was the key player in the Bears’ drive to the end zone in the fourth quarter, rushing for 40 yards on three carries. This led to Grossman scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard quarterback sneak.

Holding the Lions scoreless three out of the four quarters of the game isn’t bad, but the Bears defense were hoping that they would be four for four in that category. Things looked very promising for Chicago in the opening drive when Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky was intercepted by Mike Brown. Brown later would leave the game with a calf injury, which doesn’t seem to be too serious. The only good thing that happened for Chicago in the second quarter was Alex Brown blocking an extra point attempt after Detroit’s first TD of the game. Brown’s block helped the Bears when down in the third quarter 23-20, giving Chicago an option of kicking a field goal to tie or going for the TD to take the lead. The blocked PAT was also huge due to the fact that on the Lions’ final drive, they were down by four points instead of three—leaving them with only the option of scoring a touchdown. The play of the day on the defensive side was in the fourth quarter when the Lions were threatening to score, and rookie Craig Steltz jumped in front of Lions receiver Calvin Johnson and recorded his first career interception one yard deep in the end zone and returned it close to midfield, which set up the game-winning TD.

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After hosting and beating a winless team, the Chicago Bears now have the difficult tasking of welcoming an undefeated team in the Tennessee Titans into Solider Field in Week 10. The main focus will defiantly be on Rex Grossman and how he will react to one of the league’s top defenses in his first start since being replaced by Kyle Orton in the preseason.

By Clyde A. Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent