CHICAGO – The Bears’ 2010 season has been full of exciting and unexpected developments, and Sunday’s game against the New York Jets at Soldier Field was no exception.
In a battle of two of the NFL’s top defenses, the NFC North-champion Bears stormed back from a 21-10 second-quarter deficit to win a 38-34 shootout and move a step closer to securing a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Our offense helped us out today,” said defensive end Julius Peppers. “They held it down. It’s like that sometimes. Sometimes we need to pick each other up and they carried us today."
After having an interception returned for a touchdown in the second quarter, Jay Cutler scored on a two-yard run shortly before halftime and then threw three TD passes in a 7:14 span of the third period. Matt Forte provided balance on offense, rushing for 113 yards and 1 touchdown on 19 carries.
In winning for the seventh time in eight games since their bye, the Bears (11-4) maintained their hold on the No. 2 seed. They own a half-game lead and the tiebreaker over the Eagles (10-4), whose Sunday night game against the Vikings was moved to Tuesday night due to a snowstorm in Philadelphia.
The Bears took a 10-0 lead before the Jets scored 21 unanswered points and 24 overall in the second quarter to grab a 24-17 lead. But Chicago then outscored New York 21-7 in the third period as Cutler threw TD passes of 40 and 26 yards to Johnny Knox and 25 yards to Devin Hester. Knox’s second score of the game gave the Bears a 38-31 lead midway through the period.
“Offensively, we knew that we were playing a team that would give us a lot of pressure and we knew there would be a lot of one-on-one situations and match-ups outside to win and our receivers did a great job of winning those battles,” Smith said after the Bears scored at least 38 points in back-to-back games for the first time since 1989.
Asked what happened to the Jets defense in the third quarter, coach Rex Ryan said: “I was asking myself the same question. We couldn’t stop a nose bleed then. Everybody has to step up. But you have to give them credit. When Cutler is hot, he’s as good as there is. [He] made some big plays against us.”
Cutler completed 13 of 25 passes for 215 yards and a 104.2 passer rating.
After allowing three touchdowns and two field goals in a span of eight possessions, the Bears defense stopped the Jets on their final three drives of the game. Charles Tillman and D.J. Moore forced punts by breaking up third-down passes before Chris Harris intercepted Mark Sanchez at the Chicago 41 with :51 remaining. The pass was intended for Santonio Holmes streaking down the left sideline.
“That was a big play by Chris Harris making that interception,” Smith said. “We look at this as playoff football and there’s not going to be any blowouts in playoff football. You have to finish the game and our guys did that.”
The turning point may have occurred early in the second half. The Jets led 24-17 and faced a fourth-and-three at their own 40. Punter Steve Weatherford came on the field. But Sanchez lined up as the up back, took the direct snap and threw to Brad Smith in the right flat.
Special teams standout Rashied Davis—who played defensive back in his first season with the Bears in 2005 before switching to receiver—broke up the pass. On the next play, Cutler’s 40-yard TD bomb to Knox tied the game 24-24.
“You anticipate trick plays each week, but that changed the momentum for us,” Smith said. “[Special teams coordinator] Dave Toub and [assistant] Chris Tabor did a good job of preparing the guys, and they executed and made the play.”
The Bears struggled at times against Sanchez, who completed 24 of 37 passes for 269 yards with 1 TD, 1 interception and an 84.2 passer rating.
Despite the loss, the Jets (10-5) clinched a playoff berth in the AFC when the Jaguars lost in overtime to the Redskins. That game ended while Ryan was conducting his post-game press conference.
“I think we’re in the playoffs,” Ryan said after hearing his players cheering in their locker room. “I’ll be honest, I would have much rather won it ourselves, but I’ll take it.”
The Bears will close the season next Sunday against the Packers in a game that the NFL announced late Sunday will be flexed from noon to 3:15 p.m. Regardless of how the Eagles fare, the Bears would secure the No. 2 seed with a win at Lambeau Field.
“We control whether we get the bye or not,” Smith said. “We have a lot of reasons to be pumped up for this game. It’s our rival, Green Bay, coming up. We’re playing for that first-round bye. So what happens with Philly really doesn’t matter. We want to be in this position right here, with an 11-4 record getting ready to play another NFC North opponent.”
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