TORONTO – Their first regular-season game outside the United States was a memorable experience for the Bears, but not until they delivered clutch plays in all three phrases to rally for a critical win.
Trailing the winless Buffalo Bills 19-14 in the fourth quarter at Rogers Centre in Toronto, the Bears converted a Tim Jennings interception into the go-ahead touchdown in a 22-19 victory.
Jay Cutler provided the winning points with a two-yard touchdown pass to Earl Bennett on third-and-goal followed by a two-point conversion pass to Matt Forte with 6:41 remaining.
The Bears iced the win when Chris Harris intercepted a deflected Ryan Fitzpatrick pass at the Buffalo 40 with :27 to play—after Brad Maynard had buried the Bills at their own 1 with a 46-yard punt.
The victory enabled the Bears (5-3) to snap a two-game losing streak and remain a half game behind the first-place Green Bay Packers (6-3), who thrashed the Dallas Cowboys 45-7 Sunday night at Lambeau Field.
"As you look each week in the league, you can't ever tell," said coach Lovie Smith. "There's so much parity in the league. It's hard getting a win. So that's why we feel so good about this. Coming off the bye, we needed to get that fifth win and we were able to do that."
The Bears offense entered the game ranked last in the NFL in third-down conversions, red-zone efficiency and sacks allowed. But the unit showed marked improvement in all three areas.
The Bears were successful on 7 of 12 third-down opportunities—two of which resulted in touchdowns—after converting just 5 of 53 attempts in their last four-plus games. They scored three touchdowns on four trips inside-the-20, and allowed only one sack.
"Things clicked," said tight end Greg Olsen. "We got settled in and for the most part did a really good job. [The line] gave Jay a lot of time to find guys getting open, and the receivers, backs and tight ends got open and when the ball came made the play. I think it was an all-around pretty solid effort."
Cutler played well, completing 17 of 30 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 97.6 passer rating. He showed his mobility by scrambling for gains of 18, 14 and 9 yards while also making pinpoint throws on the run.
"Jay played great, using his feet, rolling out, running, keeping them off balance," said center Olin Kreutz. "Those are the things Jay can do when we block, and we know that."
After calling 91 pass plays and 28 runs in losing their last two games to the Seahawks and Redskins, the Bears vowed to be more balanced on offense Sunday, and they were. They ran 31 pass plays and 31 runs (counting two kneel-downs by Cutler at the end of each half).
"The last couple weeks we talked a lot about balance on the offensive side," Smith said. "I thought our guys did a great job of mixing in the run and the pass."
The defense closed the game with a flourish, but not before allowing the Bills (0-8) to turn a 7-0 deficit into a 19-14 lead with three touchdowns on drives of 68, 80 and 51 yards on four possessions.
"Defensively, we didn't play as well as we have," Smith said. "But you have to give a lot of credit to the Bills. I thought they made some plays after a slow start."
The Bears generated three takeaways for the sixth time in eight games this season. The first came on the opening possession of the second half when Lance Briggs stripped the ball from running back Fred Jackson on third-and-one and Charles Tillman recovered at the Chicago 40.
The Bears converted the turnover into Chester Taylor's 1-yard TD run to take a 14-7 lead midway through the third quarter. It was their first score from the 1 after 10 failed attempts this season.
"The turnovers were huge," Briggs said. "The turnovers to me helped really win the game. The first turnover we scored on; the second turnover we won the game."
The Bills answered immediately as Jackson capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 4-yard TD run. But Canadian native Israel Idonije celebrated his return to his native country by blocking Rian Lindell's extra point attempt, enabling the Bears to maintain a 14-13 lead late in the third period.
The Bills then recorded their only sack and takeaway of the game as defensive end Spencer Johnson forced and recovered a Cutler fumble at the Buffalo 49.
The Bills converted the turnover into fullback Corey McIntyre's 1-yard TD run to take a 19-14 lead with 10:24 left in the fourth quarter, though the Bears stopped Jackson on the two-point conversion run.
The Chicago defense then reverted to form as Jennings and Harris intercepted Fitzpatrick passes to preserve the win. In between the picks, the Bills turned the ball over on downs at the Bears' 40 with 2:20 to play as Fitzpatrick threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-10 while being pressured by a blitz.
"I like the way our team was able to finish," Smith said. "That says a lot."
The Bears had taken a 7-0 lead on Cutler's 4-yard TD pass to Olsen early in the second quarter. They later reached the Buffalo 14, but committed back-to-back false start penalties before Robbie Gould missed a 42-yard field goal attempt wide right.
The Bills followed by tying the score 7-7 on Fitzpatrick's 14-yard TD pass to Roscoe Parrish with :13 remaining in the first half.
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