Defense lifts Cutler, Bears to victory over Rams

CBSSports.com wire reports
Sep. 23, 2012

CHICAGO -- Major Wright saw Sam Bradford zeroing in on Danny Amendola and knew where the ball was headed.

It ultimately wound up in the end zone, and that was just fine with the Chicago Bears. They got back to winning thanks to their defense, with Wright coming up with the biggest play.

He returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown, and Chicago beat the St. Louis Rams 23-6 on Sunday.

The defense came to the rescue against the Rams (1-2), holding them to 160 yards and sacking Bradford six times. That was enough on a day when Jay Cutler struggled, and the Bears (2-1) bounced back after an ugly loss to Green Bay the previous week.

The Bears had just kicked a field goal to extend their lead to 13-6 in the fourth quarter before Wright made his key play. Bradford had been hit hard by Israel Idonije and Stephen Paea on the previous play when Tim Jennings deflected a slant intended for Amendola.

Wright caught the ball at the 45 and ran untouched to the end zone, making it a 14-point game and finally giving the Bears some breathing room.

"Sam Bradford was looking his way the whole time," Wright said. "As we were watching film, he is not the type of quarterback that is going to look one way and go back the other way. He was honing in on that side and I was like, 'You know what, let me take a shot over here,' and I ended up taking a shot over there. ... [Jennings] tipped it up and me being in the right spot at the right time [I] took it in."

It wasn't exactly the sort of showing the Bears were looking for after that brutal 23-10 loss to the Packers, but they got by because the defense did its part. For the offense, well, that's two bad outings in a row.

"Some games, we are going to need to score 41," coach Lovie Smith said. "Other games, we're not going to need to. We're going to have to play good, sound football and make the plays when it's required, and it was that type of day."

One positive note for the offense was Cutler appearing to keep his composure in this game. Considering he got sacked seven times, threw four interceptions and berated and bumped left tackle J'Marcus Webb on the sideline, that was an improvement.

Otherwise, there weren't many positives for him.

"Not every game is going to be 41-21," Cutler said, referring to the season-opening win over Indianapolis. "We're not going to come out every game and blow the doors off offensively and defensively. This is what is going to be more likely week in and week out."

Cutler completed 17 of 31 passes for 183 yards. He was sacked twice and threw an interception to Cortland Finnegan, who also delivered a shot after the game.

Asked what he saw from the Bears' quarterback, he said, "Not much. Not much. I think he had 190 yards passing, something like that. And no touchdowns. Typical him."

Brandon Marshall had trouble hanging onto the ball at times and wound up with five receptions for 71 yards after catching just two passes the previous week. Michael Bush ran for 55 yards and a touchdown with Matt Forte sidelined by a sprained right ankle.

"It's not how we wanted to perform, but got a W," Bush said.

Credit for that goes to the defense.

Idonije had 2? sacks, and the Bears simply made it a miserable Bradford, who was 18 of 35 for 152 yards with two interceptions.

Steven Jackson managed just 29 yards rushing after missing most of the previous game with a groin injury and sitting out practice during the week, and Amendola had five catches for 55 yards after tying a club record with 15 catches for 160 yards.

"We definitely didn't play well today," Bradford said. "Give them credit, they played us tough. But I think there are a lot of things when we look at the film that are going to fall on us. Things that we were in control of and just didn't handle. It was a tough game, a lot for us to learn from and move on as a group."

Protection might be at the top of the list. Then again, the Bears had something to do with it, too.

For all the questions surrounding their defensive line, the results so far are good. They came in tied for second in the league with eight sacks and added to their total with another balanced effort.

It's not just Julius Peppers being disruptive; he's getting help, too.

"We're fighting for the sacks," said Paea, who had one. "It's not just one person on the quarterback. It's two or three."

The effort on defense was enough to overcome a subpar performance by the offense.

When the Bears had chances, they simply didn't take advantage. With Chicago leading by four early in the final quarter, a 21-yard scramble by Cutler put the ball on the 6. But the Bears settled for a field goal to make it 13-6 after he overthrew an open Devin Hester in the end zone, the ball going through the receiver's hands as he tried to make a leaping catch.

That drew more groans from an already weary crowd, but the Bears came out on top.

"Most games are like this," Cutler said. "Most games are slug-outs. It's a four-quarter game."

Notes

Jackson said afterward that he wasn't risking further injury by playing and that he "came out of this clean." He added: "I just wish I could have been more productive and help my team win." Finnegan has an interception in each of the three games. Bears FB Evan Rodriguez left with a knee injury early in the game.

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Cutler, Bears make Luck loser in debut with Colts

CBSSports.com wire reports
Sep. 9, 2012

CHICAGO -- Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall weren't about to let Andrew Luck upstage them. Instead, they played like they'd never been apart.

Cutler threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns, Marshall added 119 yards receiving with a TD, and the Chicago Bears spoiled Luck's debut, beating the Indianapolis Colts 41-21 Sunday in the season opener.

"We got the guys," Marshall said. "We have the pieces. We have the coaches."

Matt Forte ran for 80 yards and a touchdown to go with 40 yards receiving. Newcomer Michael Bush added two TD runs, and the defense did its part, holding Luck in check.

He was 23 of 45 for 309 yards with a 4-yard TD pass to Donnie Avery early in the fourth. But Luck also lost a fumble, got sacked three times and threw three interceptions -- two to Tim Jennings -- in an up-and-down start for a rookie with huge shoes to fill. All he has to do is prove the Colts were right to take him with the No. 1 pick in the draft and part with Peyton Manning after he missed last season with a neck injury.

"There will be a lot of positives, a lot of negatives, we'll try to learn from it," Luck said. "I'm still disappointed fresh off what happened but we'll get over it."

Reggie Wayne, one of Manning's old targets, caught nine passes for 135 yards. But it was a familiar result for a team with new management and a new coach in Chuck Pagano after winning just two games.

Then again, it was hardly a surprise.

The Bears are eyeing big things, and they wound up with their highest point total since they scored 48 in a win over Detroit on Oct. 4, 2009.

With their Pro Bowl running back and strong-armed quarterback leading the way, they racked up 428 yards -- 287 while building a 10-point halftime lead - in their first game with Mike Tice as coordinator.

Forte's 6-yard run early in the third quarter and Robbie Gould's field goal after LaVon Brazill fumbled away the ensuing kickoff made it 34-14.

Cutler shook off a rough start and completed 21 of 35 passes. He got sacked by Robert Mathis for a 12-yard loss on the game's first play from scrimmage, a familiar site for the Bears, and had an interception returned 3 yards for a touchdown by Jerrell Freeman on the second possession. But Chicago caught a big break when the Colts' Dwight Freeney left with a sprained an ankle in the first quarter.

The Bears believe they are poised for a playoff run after injuries wrecked a promising season a year ago, sending them to an 8-8 finish. New general manager Phil Emery revamped the roster and brought in a go-to receiver, reuniting Cutler with his old friend from Denver in Marshall in that blockbuster trade with Miami.

"The chemistry he has with 15 (Marshall) dating back to their time together showed up today," Pagano said.

Cutler said the opportunities for Marshall to make plays were there.

"I thought Indy, they weren't really scared of him," Cutler said. "They were going to let him make plays if he was capable of making plays. They wanted to stop the run, and they were going to play man against us and try to beat us outside."

One big concern is Brian Urlacher's left knee after he initially injured it in the finale last season and had it scoped last month. The eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker practiced this week for the first time since July 31, and there was some thought that he should sit this one out, with a trip to Green Bay on Thursday. Instead, he started and coach Lovie Smith pulled him from the game after things got out of hand even though he wanted to stay in it.

"I don't like to leave the game, but he's the head coach, so I do what he says," Urlacher said.

Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Tillman limped off the field with what Smith said was a lower leg injury. He appeared to be favoring his right leg after Indianapolis punted on its first possession and came back for the next defensive series before sitting out the rest of the way.

The Colts were missing receiver Austin Collie, who was held out because of a concussion, and their defense took a hit when Freeney rolled his ankle on a low block early in the game.

That happened on the Bears' first scoring drive, which wiped out a 7-0 deficit and quieted the groans that were rumbling through Soldier Field.

That sack on Cutler was an all-too-familiar sight, and Freeman's touchdown return on a short swing pass intended for Forte to start the second possession wasn't what the Bears had in mind.

"When you come out and give up a sack, that's not playing well," Forte said. "That's just a lack of effort right there, and then, we throw a pick-6. It's just we're not focusing. We had to get that out of the way, and as you could see, it looked like everybody was focused on all the drives after that."

They quickly erased that deficit, with a 32-yard run around the left end by Forte and a 15-yard spin through the middle leading to Bush's 1-yard scoring run. And they grabbed a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter on Cutler's 3-yard pass to Marshall. That came after a neat one-handed grab by Forte, who leapfrogged a defender while turning a short pass into a 31-yard gain.

A deep pass by Luck intended for Avery got picked off by a leaping Jennings. That led to a field goal by Gould, making it a 17-7, and the Bears led 24-14 at the half.

"Bad start to the game, great start to the season," Marshall said.

Notes

Freeney was scheduled for an MRI. Colts RT Winston Justice left the game with a concussion. There was a moment of silence in the press box before the game in honor Associated Press sports writer Joe Mooshil, a fixture in Chicago who died Friday night at age 85.

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