Bears’ Very Slim Postseason Hopes Still Alive

The start of Lovie Smith and the Chicago Bears’ “five-game season” got off to a positive start with a 17-9 victory over the hapless St. Louis Rams. The Bears (5-7) didn’t dominate as many people thought they would have, but they did control the Rams (1-11) just enough to come away with the win.

Quarterback Jay Cutler played a very conservative game; only amassing 143 yards in the air on eight of his 17 pass attempts. One hundred twenty-two of Cutler’s 143 passing yards came on two long pass plays. The first was to Devin Hester for 48 yards, who left the game in the second half with a calf injury. Cutler’s other long pass was to his former college teammate Earl Bennett, who hauled in a catch-and-run for 71 yards. Late in the third quarter, Bennett caught his first career touchdown pass from Cutler to give the Bears a 17-6 lead. The running game showed some improvement despite the absence of veteran offensive tackle Orlando Pace. Second-year tackle Chris Williams was moved to the left tackle position while Kevin Shaffer stepped in at right tackle. With the adjustments on the offensive line, running back Matt Forte rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown. The injuries on offense before and during the game might have limited their production, but that wasn’t the story for the defense.

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

Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs was inactive this week due to a knee injury, but his replacement, Jamar Williams, stepped in and stepped up recording a game-high 20 tackles. Defensive linemen Anthony Adams, Israel Idonije, and Adewale Ogunleye each recorded a sack, along with Hunter Hillenmeyer’s interception, Zackary Bowman’s forced fumble and rookie Al Afalava’s fumble recovery. St. Louis’ only threat on offense, running back Steven Jackson, did manage to rush for 112 yards on 28 carries, but was held out of the end zone. Jackson almost matched the number of passing yards the Rams’ quarterback Kyle Boller had for the game—113.

Reminiscent of last season, the Chicago Bears find themselves in the position of needing to win each of their remaining games and relying on other teams in the NFC to lose in order to sneak into the playoffs. Three of the four remaining opponents on Chicago’s schedule are potential playoff teams, two of which are in the NFC North—the Minnesota Vikings, and next week’s opponent the high-flying Green Bay Packers.

By Clyde Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent