The Chicago Bears ended the 2011 season with an 8-8 mark. This was disappointing considering they had won seven of their first ten games and appeared to be headed toward another playoff appearance. However, injuries to Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, proved to be too much for the team to overcome. With the 2012 schedules being released on April 17, it is time for me to put behind the bad finish to last year and turn the page to the present. Here is a glimpse at some of the marquee games for the Bears in the upcoming season.

　

Week 2 – at Green Bay Packers:

Considering this is one of the most storied rivalries in football, every game against the Packers is an important one and these two teams will meet early in the 2012 season at Lambeau Field. With victories in both games last year, the Packers have now won four straight against the Bears, dating back to the final game of 2010. While the Bears have made a few improvements during the off-season, this game against the Packers will truly determine if they have closed the talent gap somewhat between the two teams.

　

Week 7 – vs. Detroit Lions:

The Lions were the laughingstock of the league a few years ago when they finished with an 0-16 record. Behind Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, Detroit got off to its best start in 50 years en route to a rare postseason appearance. While they would lose to the New Orleans Saints in the first round of he playoffs, the Lions proved they are no longer a team that opponents can take for granted. The Bears and Lions split their two games last year, with each team winning on its home field. I expect that trend to continue this year as well.

　

Week 10 – vs. Houston Texans:

Despite injuries to several key players during the 2011 campaign, the Texans were the top team in the AFC South Division and posted the franchise’s first-ever playoff win with a 31-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bears‘ defense will definitely have their hands full trying to contain the Texans’ talented trio of Matt Schaub, Arian Foster and Andre Johnson.

　

Week 11 – at San Francisco 49ers:

The 49ers surprised a lot of people in 2011, posting a 13-3 mark to win their division and making their first playoff appearance in nearly a decade. The 49ers showed their regular season success was no fluke as they advanced to the NFC Championship game and almost defeated the New York Giants. If not for a couple of turnovers late in the game, they would have represented the NFC in the Super Bowl . Being that the 49ers only lost one game at home last year, I expect them to be a tough opponent in this match-up.

　

James Tillman is a resident of the Chicago-land area, who has been a Bears’ fan for over 20 seasons. James is also a Featured Sports Contributor for Yahoo and a Sports Journalist for SportsRantz Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @jtillman9693.

　

Sources:

“Still Prime-Time Players”, Sean Jensen, Chicago Sun-Times

Texans Team History

2011 NFL Standings

　

　

　

　

　

The NFL has released the 2012 schedule, and the Chicago Bears will have a tough road ahead of them if they hope to make the postseason. Between three Monday night games and tough competition in the NFC North, the Bears have their work cut out for them. The first game may be the key to giving the team the boost that they need to get them through the season and make it to the playoffs.

Season Opener May Provide a Confidence Boost

The Bears will host the Indianapolis Colts in their first game of the year. With a new head coach and a new starting quarterback, the Colts may not be as steady for the first game as they may be later in the season. It is presumed, of course, that Andrew Luck will go to the Colts in the first round of the draft. Constant comparisons to Peyton Manning won’t do much to calm the rookie’s nerves in his NFL debut. Look for the Bears to have a strong pass rush this game.

Monday night games present challenges

The Bears have three Monday night games this season. They will meet the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, and the San Francisco 49ers in the three games. None of the teams will be easy to beat, but expect the Lions game to be especially brutal. Neither team has forgotten the ugly game last year; D.J. Moore was ejected from the game, and there were plenty personal fouls accrued on both sides of the field. The game won’t just be about bruised egos from last season; both teams are contenders this year. It may just turn out to be the best Monday night game of the season.

NFC North Will Be A Tough Conference

The Lions are expected to do as well as last season or better, and the Green Bay Packers are still the Packers, so the four games that the Bears have against the teams won’t be easy victories. Green Bay will host the Bears in the second game of the season, and Chicago will only have a few days rest between the opener and this game. The only break that the Bears may get will be in the two games against the Minnesota Vikings, since this season should be a rebuilding year for them. The Bears will meet all three other teams in the conference in the final four weeks of the regular season, with their last game being played in Detroit.

Bears Regular-Season Schedule

Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 9, vs. Indianapolis Colts

Week 2: Thursday, Sept. 13, at Green Bay Packers

Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 23, vs. St. Louis Rams

Week 4: Monday, Oct. 1, at Dallas Cowboys

Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 7, at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 6: Bye Week

Week 7: Monday, Oct. 22, vs. Detroit Lions

Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 28, vs. Carolina Panthers

Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 4, at Tennessee Titans

Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 11, vs. Houston Texans

Week 11: Monday, Nov. 19, at San Francisco 49ers

Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 25, vs Minnesota Vikings

Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 2, vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 9, at Minnesota Vikings

Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 16, vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 23, at Arizona Cardinals

Week 17: Sunday, Dec. 30, at Detroit Lions

Whitney Levon is a Chicago native whose dedication to the Bears goes back to her first football memory; the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl victory. She has been covering the Chicago Bears and other Chicago teams since 2010. You can follow her on Twitter @wlevon1 .

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears reeled off five consecutive wins in 2010 from Nov. 7 through Dec. 5, and reached their fifth straight victory of the 2011 season Sunday with a 31-20 trouncing of the San Diego Chargers.

The question now is how long can the current streak with three more games against the struggling AFC West on the horizon?

The Bears have forced nine turnovers in their last two outings — six against the Lions and three against the Chargers — and are now 4-1 on the season when they finish on the positive side of the turnover margin, and 10-1 the past two seasons under those conditions.

Talk about playing Chicago Bears football.

Let’s take a closer look:

What it means: The Bears didn’t gain or lose ground in their attempt to move up in the NFC North standings. More than anything, the triumph over the Chargers maintains the momentum built up by the team as it goes into the second of four consecutive outings against the AFC West; a division that had a combined 19-20 record coming out of Sunday’s games (the Kansas City Chiefs face the New England Patriots on Monday).

The Bears simply maintained their position as both the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions emerged victors in their respective games.

Hester adds to accolades: The Chargers kept Devin Hester out of the end zone, but the return man added to his long list of accomplishments with a 37-yard punt return in the second quarter. With that long return, Hester now has 31 returns of 25 yards or longer since coming into the league in 2006, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Hester’s 31 returns of 25 yards or longer is 15 more than any other player in the NFL.

Tight ends hurting Bears: Antonio Gates caught an 8-yard touchdown in the second quarter, marking the eighth touchdown given up by the Bears to a tight end. The eight TDs allowed by a tight end is the most of any team in the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Interestingly, the Bears gave up just three touchdowns to tight ends last season, which was tied for the fewest in the NFL.

Three in a Roy: Having caught just three balls in the previous two games, receiver Roy Williams hauled in three consecutive completions from Jay Cutler for gains of 11, 11, and 12 yards during an eight-play drive in the third quarter that led to Bears taking a 24-17 lead on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

Perhaps Williams was making up Sunday for a zero-catch performance in the team’s victory over the Lions.

Williams caught a season-high five passes for 62 yards, and appeared to be Cutler’s go-to receiver in crucial situations.

Coming into the game, Williams’ best performance had been a four-catch outing against the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 7.

Speaking of three in a row: Bears safety Major Wright notched his first career interception in the team’s 30-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 7. Since then, the second-year safety has picked off passes in each of the past two weeks.

Wright intercepted Rivers in the fourth quarter, and was flagged for a group demonstration in the end zone. A week before, in Chicago’s win over Detroit, Wright scored on a 24-yard INT return.

Windy City stripper: Bears cornerbackCharles Tillman struggled somewhat in pass coverage against Vincent Jackson, who finished the day with seven receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown.

Tillman atoned with heady play, leading to the cornerback notching the 27th forced fumble of his career. In notching his third forced fumble of this season, Tillman poked the ball out of the arms of Chargers running back Ryan Mathews, and recovered the loose ball at the San Diego 37 with 5:32 left in the third quarter.

Two plays later, the Bears turned that into a TD with a 24-yard scoring connection from Cutler to Johnny Knox.

Tillman’s 26 forced fumbles since 2003 ranked as the most by a defensive back coming into Sundya’s contest. Tillman has now played a role in 45 turnovers (28 interceptions and 27 forced fumbles) throughout his career.

What’s next: The Bears receive a day off on Monday before starting preparation for a road game next Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

CHICAGO — Though one of them came gift-wrapped from Matthew Stafford, the Bears were still clearly very proud of their six takeaways that came during their big 37-13 win over Detroit on Sunday.

And after doing a lot of talking about why the turnovers weren’t coming up to that point, the Bears were more than happy to talk about their takeaway-filled win.

“This was what we were waiting for. We knew they were going to come; and they did today because we made them happen,” said safety Major Wright, who had one of the biggest of the day, returning a third-quarter interception 24 yards for a score to stretch the lead to three touchdowns. “We had it in our minds that we were going to make a difference out there. We hadn’t really done it all year, so we knew we needed to do our part.”

The Bears had forced 13 turnovers in their first eight games headed into Sunday’s key NFC North match-up. The Lions came into the game with the best turnover ratio (+13) in the league after coughing up just five giveaways all year. They had six against the Bears.

They believed it was all on them.

“Obviously,” said Lions QB Matthew Stafford, after throwing four interceptions Sunday, “I didn’t play my best football today.”

But the Bears insist they were the reason the Lions were so generous at Soldier Field.

“Every guy out there was hungry,” cornerback Tim Jennings said. “We had a bead on the ball, and the quarterback, all day.”

Right off the bat, a Julius Peppers clothesline tackle separated Calvin Johnson from the ball less than three minutes into the game. That one set the tone, and the Bears’ offense pounded it into the end zone three plays later.

Next up it was Jennings’ turn. After getting beat on a third-down reception by Nate Burleson, Jennings backtracked his way behind Burleson, poked the ball free, and pounced on the fumble. The Bears turned that one into a 10-0 lead.

After they took a 20-6 lead into halftime, two quick interceptions returned for TDs broke the game wide open. Wright had the first, which Stafford insisted was wind-aided. Corner Charles Tillman jumped a route and took his interception in for a score on the Lions’ next possession.
“A lot of the time, they come in bunches,” Bears head coach Lovie Smith said. “They came in bunches tonight.”

Two late-game picks — one by Jennings and another from Corey Graham — helped ice the game. And after Sunday, the Bears are now 41-8 since 2004 when they win the turnover battle. Against the Lions, they owned it, finishing with a 6-1 edge.

“We preach and we practice taking the ball away a lot. It’s good for it to finally show up,” Smith said. “It was just a total effort by the defense.”

The Bears are now tied for second in the league with 20 takeaways, and have moved up to 14th in the ever-important, scoring-defense category, allowing 20.8 points per game. It’s still not where they want to be, but they’re moving in the right direction.

“I don’t think you’re going to lose too many games playing like that on defense,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “That’s as dominant as I’ve been around since I’ve been here. We got takeaways when we needed to, and we scored on them.

“We took care of business, and got back on a roll.”

Bears reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1384 or jtaft@rrstar.com.

As my co-worker Phil Zaroo said via Twitter, “I think the #Lions will have a tape-burning session in Allen Park on Monday.” 

As cathartic as the act would be, there is certain to be some audible groaning when the team does review the film.

For our own benefit, let’s look at all the mistakes from the Detroit Lions’ 37-13 loss to the Chicago Bears. As you might imagine, this list is going to be quite long. I’m you’re just looking to move forward with you life, I strongly suggest skipping to the next article.

• Already facing a hole because of a holding call on first down, quarterback Matthew Stafford swung a bubble screen to Calvin Johnson on the outside. The receiver tried to cut back inside, but was unable to avoid Bears defensive end Julius Peppers, who wrapped the receiver up around the neck and brought him violently down to the turf. The hit also forced Johnson to drop the ball – a fumble that was recovered by the Bears – ending a Lions’ opening drive.
• On 2nd-and-8 on the Bears ensuing possession, the Lions stopped running back Matt Forte on a screen pass, setting up what would have been a 3rd-and-5 at the 25-yard line, but Kyle Vanden Bosch was flagged for a late hit on Forte, giving the Bears a first down at the 12. The Lions have been good on third down this year, and could have held Chicago to a field goal. Instead, the Bears punched it into the end zone two plays later to take a 7-0 lead.
• Another fumble, this time by Nate Burleson, derailed the Lions’ second drive. Burleson caught a hitch route near the right sideline at the Lions 46, and made a move on cornerback Tim Jennings to pick up another 10 yards. But as Burleson, avoided a second tackle, Jennings recovered to punch the ball out from behind.
• On a 2nd-and-10 run, near midfield, Forte is forced out of bounds after a six-yard gain. Instead of facing a third down, the Bears are awarded a first after defensive end Cliff Avril is flagged for a face mask. The penalty moved the Bears into field-goal range, where they extend their lead to 10-0 with 4:42 to go in the first quarter.
• On a quick in route from the slot, Johnson dropped his first of three passes on the day. It would have only been a 4-7 yard gain on first down, but Detroit failed to convert on second and third down, forcing them to punt.
• Early in the second quarter, trailing 13-0, the Lions designed a nice screen pass for Maurice Morris. Stafford ran play-action, first to Morris up the gut, then to Burleson, running in motion from right to left. The Bears defense focused on Burleson as Morris leaked out to the right flat with three blockers. Unfortunately for Morris, he ran into Jeff Backus and fell to the ground, allowing Stafford’s pass to fall incomplete. Who knows what would of happened, but there was a lot of open field and plenty of Lions blockers to believe Morris missed out on a huge play.
• It’s fair to ask why anyone would kick to Devin Hester, but if you were to kick to him, Robert Malone’s punt in the second quarter was about as good as it gets. The fill-in punter booted the ball 60 yards, forcing Hester to scramble back nearly 20 yards and attempt to haul it in over his shoulder. The returner then proceeded to drop the ball, yet it didn’t provide enough time for the Lions to stop him. Hester returned it 82 yards, with only Malone getting a hand on him. This should solidify any doubt that you should always punt out of bounds against the Bears.
• On Detroit’s next possession, 2nd-and-10, Johnson dropped his second pass. This one, on a hitch route, hit him right in the hands and would have been a first down. Instead the Lions were forced to punt.
• Chicago gifted the ball back to Detroit when Cutler fumbled the ball on the first snap of the drive. Starting in the red zone, the Lions opened with an eight-yard run from Morris, but immediately stalled, settling for a field goal. On 3rd-and-2, Stafford got Johnson in single-coverage on the outside, but sailed an attempt out of his big wide receiver’s reach.
• Still down 20-3, the Lions go three-and-out after Titus Young drops a second-down pass, and Calvin Johnson runs his third-down route a yard short of the sticks.

• After Stafford led a solid drive down to the Chicago 18 – going 6-9 along the way -the quarterback was sacked on first down. Facing 2nd-and-15, Stafford fed a beautiful pass to Johnson in the seam after the wideout ran an out-and-up from the slot. The ball hit Johnson in the hands at the six-yard line, but he wasn’t able to maintain possession after being hit by Charles Tillman. It was Johnson’s third drop of the first half.

  Stafford actually picked up the first down with a third-down completion to tight end Brandon Pettigrew, but the Lions again stalled deep in the red zone. On first down, Young and Johnson collided, taking both out of the play as Stafford’s pass was nearly intercepted. On second down, Stafford overthrew another fade attempt to Johnson. And on third down, Stephen Peterman was badly beaten by Peppers, who gobbled up Stafford for the sack.

• Toward the end of the half, Cliff Avril forced a fumble that was ruled an incomplete pass. The play was reviewed and ruling was reversed, but since no Detroit Lions player immediately recovered the football during the play, the possession stayed with Chicago. Defensive tackle Nick Fairley and cornerback Chris Houston were both in the vicinity of the loose ball, but neither thought to pick it up off the ground. Honestly, it’s tough to fault the players on this one, but you can bet they’ll be coached to pick up every loose football from this point on in case of a similar situation.
• Despite being grossly outplayed in the first half, the Lions were only down two scores (20-6) when they forced a three-and-out to start the third quarter. But things unraveled quickly, starting on a 2nd-and-8 play, where Stafford seemed to be throwing to a different spot than where tight end Tony Scheffler was running his route. The result was a pick-six and a 21-point deficit.
• Things went from bad to worse as Stafford threw another pick-six on the Lions’ next drive – this one to Charles Tillman. This pushed the Bears lead to 34-6.
• Detroit’s next drive is derailed on a 3rd-and-4, when Stafford missed Scheffler on a post route from the slot. Scheffler did a nice job absorbing the contact from the defensive back near the line of scrimmage and getting separation to the inside, but Stafford’s sidearm throw was out of the reach of his tight end.
• The Lions bottled up Forte all day, but allowed the back to get free for a 40-yard gain in the third-quarter. The Bears blocked the play well at the line of scrimmage, and used a pulling guard to pick up linebacker DeAndre Levy to give Forte the lane on the left side. Safety Louis Delmas came up and had a one-on-one shot at Forte five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, but whiffed on a diving attempt.
• Down 37-6 in the third quarter, the Lions offense kept fighting, and worked it down into Bears red zone once again. Detroit had four shots from the 11-yard line, but failed to punch it in. On first down, Johnson ran a post, but Stafford led him a bit far and the receiver was unable to make the diving catch. This is a pass Johnson usually catches, but not a pass you can label a drop. This incompletion is on Stafford. On second down, there was a communication breakdown as Stafford’s pass went one way and Johnson went another. On third down, Scheffler dropped a perfectly placed touchdown pass on a post route. And on fourth down, Stafford locked on, and tried to force it to, Johnson in the middle of the field, surrounded by three defenders, despite having Pettigrew wide open.

• The Lions found themselves in the red zone again late in middle of the fourth quarter, but again couldn’t finish. On 2nd-and-10 from the Chicago 13, Nate Burleson ran a nice stutter-and-go route from the slot. Recognizing the safety had vacated his spot, Stafford laid a nice pass over the top. It hit Burleson in the hands, but the receiver couldn’t haul it in.

  On the next play, Stafford again tried to force it to Johnson, this time lobbing one off his back foot, into triple coverage. The pass came up woefully short and was intercepted by cornerback Corey Graham. Even if Johnson had managed to come down with the poor throw, it would have been negated by a holding call.

Yeah, that’s a lot of miscues, mental errors and bad plays. There were some positives in the game, especially the play of the defense, but the Lions have to clean up these elementary mistakes from all three units. They’re not going to win many football games committing dumb penalties, dropping first down and touchdown passes and recklessly turning the ball over. 

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, the tape can be burned. 

“It wasn’t clean and it wasn’t quiet,” Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said. “I know that. That’s just how it is.”

Either way, it was another big step for the Bears.

“We knew that we could do it,” cornerback D.J. Moore said. “We just have to keep winning.”

If they keep this up, Philip Rivers could be in for a long day when the San Diego Chargers visit Soldier Field next weekend.

Stafford certainly had a miserable time.

The four interceptions matched his season total entering the game and helped knock the Lions (6-3) into a second-place tie with the Bears in the NFC North. Stafford was also involved in a skirmish that led to Moore’s ejection early in the fourth quarter.

By then, the Bears (6-3) had locked up their fourth straight win thanks to a dominant defense and another punt return for a touchdown by Devin Hester, who ran one back 82 yards. That extended his NFL record for punt-return TDs to 12 and combined kick-return touchdowns to 17.

Julius Peppers and Tim Jennings forced turnovers on Detroit’s first two possessions, leading to a touchdown and field goal by Chicago. Wright and Tillman returned interceptions for touchdowns on the Lions’ first two possessions of the second half to put game out of reach.

In between turnover binges, Hester caused his usual havoc before leaving with an undisclosed illness.

For a guy who was listed as questionable with a sprained left ankle, Hester sure looked good while he was in the game. He had already set up a field goal by Robbie Gould in the opening seconds of the second quarter with a 29-yard punt return before his long TD return along the left sideline, giving the Bears a 20-0 lead.

Coach Lovie Smith called it a “gutsy effort by him,” but it was an impressive performance all around.

The idea that the Bears would be tied with the Lions seemed far-fetched after their 24-13 Monday night loss at Ford Field last month, but the teams have gone in different directions since.

“We had a lot riding on this game,” Smith said. “NFC division game at home we just couldn’t afford another loss. We’ve gotten better and better each week.”

Detroit has dropped three of four after winning its first five, and this one was brutal — particularly for Stafford and Calvin Johnson.

Johnson had 81 yards on seven catches with Tillman locking him down.

Stafford, playing with a fractured finger in his right hand, completed 33 of 63 passes for 329 yards, and any shot the Lions had at a comeback ended when Wright and Tillman picked him off early in the third.

Wright returned his interception 24 yards and Tillman ran his back 44 yards for TDs that made it 34-6, sending the Lions to their first road loss after they won their first four away from Ford Field.

Stafford said the finger wasn’t really a factor, but the strong wind was.

Things really got chippy early in the fourth quarter after Stafford threw his third interception. Jennings picked him off and got shoved hard out of bounds by Nate Burleson. While that unfolded, Stafford grabbed Moore by the helmet and threw him to the ground, setting off a confrontation involving players from both teams that ultimately led to Moore’s ejection.

“When you are going after my livelihood, my neck, and you’re trying to hurt me, I just can’t let that go,” Moore said.

Stafford said he wasn’t trying to injure Moore.

“He kind of blocked me and I was just trying to get him off me best I knew how,” Stafford said. “And I guess he didn’t like the way I did it. He wanted to ask me about it.”

There was also some tension earlier in the game.

Cutler had his helmet ripped off by Ndamukong Suh after a run, and he got slammed to the ground by Nick Fairley on a late hit in the third quarter.

And a few plays before Jennings’ interception, Chicago’s Lance Briggs had a hard hit on Johnson.

Notes: Smith said LG Chris Williams was undergoing surgery Sunday after leaving the game with a wrist injury. … Tillman tied Mike Brown and Bennie McRae for the club record with his fourth career interception return for a touchdown. He has 28 interceptions and ranks fourth on the Bears’ all-time list. … Peppers had an 11-yard sack on third down at the six that forced Detroit to kick a field goal in the second quarter. … The Lions had won six straight road games dating back to last season.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CHICAGO (AP)—Even at their lowest point, the Chicago Bears kept insisting
they weren’t ready to fade away. If there were any doubts, this should erase
them.

Charles Tillman(notes) and Major Wright(notes) returned interceptions for touchdowns early
in the third quarter, and Chicago picked off Matthew Stafford(notes) four times to beat
the Detroit Lions 37-13 Sunday in a heated game.

“It wasn’t clean and it wasn’t quiet,” Bears quarterback Jay Cutler(notes) said.
“I know that. That’s just how it is.”

Either way, it was another big step for the Bears.

“We knew that we could do it,” cornerback D.J. Moore(notes) said. “We just have
to keep winning.”

If they keep this up, Philip Rivers(notes) could be in for a long day when the San
Diego Chargers visit Soldier Field next weekend.

Stafford certainly had a miserable time.

The four interceptions matched his season total entering the game and helped
knock the Lions (6-3) into a second-place tie with the Bears in the NFC North.
Stafford was also involved in a skirmish that led to Moore’s ejection early in
the fourth quarter.

By then, the Bears (6-3) had locked up their fourth straight win thanks to a
dominant defense and another punt return for a touchdown by Devin Hester(notes), who
ran one back 82 yards. That extended his NFL record for punt-return TDs to 12
and combined kick-return touchdowns to 17.

Julius Peppers(notes) and Tim Jennings(notes) forced turnovers on Detroit’s first two
possessions, leading to a touchdown and field goal by Chicago. Wright and
Tillman returned interceptions for touchdowns on the Lions’ first two
possessions of the second half to put game out of reach.

In between turnover binges, Hester caused his usual havoc before leaving
with an undisclosed illness.

For a guy who was listed as questionable with a sprained left ankle, Hester
sure looked good while he was in the game. He had already set up a field goal by
Robbie Gould(notes) in the opening seconds of the second quarter with a 29-yard punt
return before his long TD return along the left sideline, giving the Bears a
20-0 lead.

Coach Lovie Smith called it a “gutsy effort by him,” but it was an
impressive performance all around.

The idea that the Bears would be tied with the Lions seemed far-fetched
after their 24-13 Monday night loss at Ford Field last month, but the teams have
gone in different directions since.

“We had a lot riding on this game,” Smith said. “NFC division game at
home we just couldn’t afford another loss. We’ve gotten better and better each
week.”

Detroit has dropped three of four after winning its first five, and this one
was brutal—particularly for Stafford and Calvin Johnson(notes).

Johnson had 81 yards on seven catches with Tillman locking him down.

Stafford, playing with a fractured finger in his right hand, completed 33 of
63 passes for 329 yards, and any shot the Lions had at a comeback ended when
Wright and Tillman picked him off early in the third.

Wright returned his interception 24 yards and Tillman ran his back 44 yards
for TDs that made it 34-6, sending the Lions to their first road loss after they
won their first four away from Ford Field.

Stafford said the finger wasn’t really a factor, but the strong wind was.

Things really got chippy early in the fourth quarter after Stafford threw
his third interception. Jennings picked him off and got shoved hard out of
bounds by Nate Burleson(notes). While that unfolded, Stafford grabbed Moore by the
helmet and threw him to the ground, setting off a confrontation involving
players from both teams that ultimately led to Moore’s ejection.

“When you are going after my livelihood, my neck, and you’re trying to hurt
me, I just can’t let that go,” Moore said.

Stafford said he wasn’t trying to injure Moore.

“He kind of blocked me and I was just trying to get him off me best I knew
how,” Stafford said. “And I guess he didn’t like the way I did it. He wanted
to ask me about it.”

There was also some tension earlier in the game.

Cutler had his helmet ripped off by Ndamukong Suh(notes) after a run, and he got
slammed to the ground by Nick Fairley(notes) on a late hit in the third quarter.

And a few plays before Jennings’ interception, Chicago’s Lance Briggs(notes) had a
hard hit on Johnson.

Notes: Smith said LG Chris Williams was undergoing surgery Sunday after
leaving the game with a wrist injury. … Tillman tied Mike Brown(notes) and Bennie
McRae for the club record with his fourth career interception return for a
touchdown. He has 28 interceptions and ranks fourth on the Bears’ all-time list.
… Peppers had an 11-yard sack on third down at the six that forced Detroit to
kick a field goal in the second quarter. … The Lions had won six straight road
games dating back to last season.

(The following was written by a life-long Chicago Bears fan, me, getting ready to serve some crow, beaks, feathers, and all…)

“Conan! What is best in life?” “Crush your enemies , see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women!” - from the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian

They are who we thought they were, although there is no truth to the rumor that NFL Ayatollah Roger Goodell has ordered Samsonite to produce footballs with briefcase handles for the Detroit Lions’ next game…just in case, you know.

The Lions walked into Soldier Field on Sunday believing they were the better team, so much so that Calvin Johnson(notes) was already talking about the touchdown celebration he’d planned. They were carried out of Soldier Field late Sunday afternoon, believing that they were lucky the game was only four quarters long.

The Chicago Bears destroyed the visitors, forcing six turnovers en route to a 37-13 rout.

This Lion “performance” lacked only Keystone Kops theme music for complete ineptitude. They were overwhelmed in every phase of the game. From now on, anyone mentioning the words “playoffs” and “Lions” in the same sentence had better be referring to the fact that the Lions aren’t going any time soon, if today’s game is any indication.

Where to begin?

Calvin Johnson fumbled, Bryan Urlacher (naturally) recovered and advanced the ball, a handful of plays later Matt Forte(notes) (who else?) scored, and the blow-out had officially begun.

Five plays later, Nate Burleson(notes) fumbled, Tim Jennings(notes) recovered, and the Bears would turn this largess into a field goal.

Before they could even work up a sweat, the Lions found themselves in a ten-point hole on the road in the first quarter.

Remember the phrase “in a hole.” Some would call this “foreshadowing.”

Before the second quarter was a minute old, the Bears had added another field goal, and the Lions had made the mistake of punting to Devin Hester(notes).

Quoth the Road Runner, “Beep beep!”

15:45 into the game, the Lions were on the wrong side of a very lopsided 20-0 score.

The Lions managed to cut into the massive Bear lead by halftime, putting a couple of field goals on the board…aaaand that would be about as much fight as the Pretty Kitties from the Motor City would put up on this particular Sunday.

On their second offensive play of the second half, Matthew Stafford(notes) threw a pick-6.

27-6 Bears.

On their sixth offensive play of the second half, Matthew Stafford threw another pick-6.

34-6 Bears.

Handed a 28-point lead after the defense had forced yet another punt, the Bear offense kicked a field goal to make it a 31-point lead because, well, why not?

Better yet, the Bears also managed to dish out a little wall-to-wall counseling in this game. Calvin Johnson got blown up by Lance Briggs(notes), but then Megatron was always pwned by Optimus Prime. Matthew Stafford, after throwing his third interception of the day, tried some sissified helmet-grabbing and got blown up by D.J. Moore(notes) for his insolence. Stafford, the tough guy, would toss yet another interception later but wisely chose to avoid any further personal confrontations, having been smacked in his cake-hole enough for one day.

Beaten badly, these Lions have now dropped three of their last four games and are officially in a tail-spin. They can’t run the ball at all, and teams have figured out how to take either Stafford or Johnson out of the game. The defense, for all of its talking and bullying, still can’t stop the run. Someone, somewhere (probably along I-75) will try to make the argument that the Lions defense shut down the Bears offense on this day, that neither Jay Cutler(notes) nor Matt Forte truly contributed to this win. Someone right here will say that all the Bears’ offense needed to do on this day was protect the ball, run the clock out, and watch in awe as the defense dished out an old-fashioned country butt-kicking. With their defense unable to defend and their offense unable to offend, the Lions are starting to look like the frauds some knucklehead said they were last weekend .

Their schedule tells me that they are about to look a lot more fraudulent in the coming weeks, as they have to face Green Bay twice, visit New Orleans, visit Oakland, and host San Diego.

That’s how a 5-0 start collapses into an 8-8 finish.

Meanwhile, the Bears have now officially announced themselves as serious playoff contenders, winning four straight and five of their last six. On a day in which the opponent was imploding with more than a little urging from a ball-hawking defense, the offense did the sensible thing and didn’t do anything insensible. There were no particular Mike Martz flights of fancy in this one, nor did there need to be. This rout needed to stick.

The defense, having played at a playoff-level for much of the season, put together an absolutely dominant performance. Yes, Matthew Stafford threw for 366 yards, but most of that happened when the game was already decided; besides, that 47.4 quarterback rating will go a long way to ameliorating all those passing yards.

Right now, the Bears are playing the kind of team-oriented football that plays well in January.

There was a time, back in September, when yours truly was a bit worried about the schedule down the stretch.

Now, however?

Bring on the AFC West. There’s not a team in that division playing as well on both sides of the football as the Bears are playing right now, not one. On the NFC side of the ledger, the Atlanta Falcons shot themselves in the foot on Sunday and have fallen into a big group of teams on the wrong side of the playoff divide, all of whom are just flawed enough to keep them from being able to get any separation from each other in the race for the last couple of playoff slots.

Unlike last season’s playoff run, this year’s Bears are not the beneficiaries of every other team’s bad week. This season, the Bears, once they got themselves righted, are now forcing bad play from their opponents. They are not merely opportunistic, but are in fact creating the opportunities that they are exploiting.

The best part about this team? They are not satisfied. Whether it’s Matt Forte’s unresolved contract situation (pay the man!), or Lance Briggs feeling unloved again, or whether Mike Martz’ offense can translate to a bunch of no-names, or a stretch of games that left certain people questioning their onions, this team still has a huge chip on its shoulder. They seem bent on reducing whoever is in front of them to rubble, a quality that will serve them well in the weeks to come, as the calender gets smaller and the wins get bigger.

As for this week?

Message sent. Frauds exposed.

Next up?

The reeling San Diego Chargers, losers of their last four in a row, a team on the verge of open mutiny.

Here’s hoping they come to Chicago seeking a balm and finding only more blisters.

Sources:

Yahoo! Sports

NFL.com

Pro-Football-Reference.com

IMDB.com

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CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears understand where they were and can appreciate how far they’ve come.

Charles Tillman and Major Wright returned interceptions for touchdowns early in the third quarter, and Chicago picked off Matthew Stafford four times to beat the Detroit Lions 37-13 in a heated game on Sunday.

“We’re getting better,” Brian Urlacher said. “No doubt about that. We’re not done yet. We’ve still got a long way to go. But we’re going the right direction, that’s for sure.”

Beating Detroit was another big step.

The four interceptions by Stafford matched his season total entering the game and helped knock the Lions (6-3) into a second-place tie with the Bears in the NFC North. Stafford was also involved in a skirmish that led to an ejection of Chicago’s D.J. Moore early in the fourth quarter.

By then, the Bears (6-3) had locked up their fourth straight win thanks to a dominant defense and another punt return for a touchdown by Devin Hester, who ran one back 82 yards. That extended his NFL record for punt-return TDs to 12 and combined kick-return touchdowns to 17.

Julius Peppers and Tim Jennings forced turnovers on Detroit’s first two possessions, leading to a touchdown and field goal by Chicago. Wright and Tillman returned interceptions for touchdowns on the Lions’ first two possessions of the second half to put game out of reach.

In between turnover binges, Hester caused his usual havoc before leaving with an undisclosed illness.

For a guy who was listed as questionable with a sprained left ankle, Hester sure looked good while he was in the game. He had already set up a field goal by Robbie Gould in the opening seconds of the second quarter with a 29-yard punt return before his long TD return along the left sideline, giving the Bears a 20-0 lead.

The idea that the Bears would be tied with the Lions seemed far-fetched after their 24-13 Monday night loss at Ford Field last month, but the teams have gone in different directions since.

“We had a lot riding on this game,” Smith said. “NFC division game at home we just couldn’t afford another loss. We’ve gotten better and better each week.”

Detroit has dropped three of four after winning its first five, and this one was brutal — particularly for Stafford and Calvin Johnson.

Johnson had 81 yards on seven catches with Tillman locking him down.

Stafford, playing with a fractured finger in his right hand, completed 33 of 63 passes for 329 yards, and any shot the Lions had at a comeback ended when Wright and Tillman picked him off early in the third.

Wright returned his interception 24 yards and Tillman ran his back 44 yards for TDs that made it 34-6, sending the Lions to their first road loss after they won their first four away from Ford Field.

Stafford said the finger wasn’t really a factor, but the strong wind was.

“Wind was blowing the ball around, and they had a tough time throwing it and we had a tough time throwing it,” he said.

Things really got chippy early in the fourth quarter after Stafford threw his third interception. Jennings picked him off and got shoved hard out of bounds by Nate Burleson. While that unfolded, Stafford grabbed Moore by the helmet and threw him to the ground, setting off a confrontation involving players from both teams that ultimately led to Moore’s ejection.

“When you are going after my livelihood, my neck, and you’re trying to hurt me, I just can’t let that go,” Moore said.

Stafford said he wasn’t trying to injure Moore.

“He kind of blocked me and I was just trying to get him off me best I knew how,” Stafford said. “And I guess he didn’t like the way I did it. He wanted to ask me about it.”

There was also some tension earlier in the game.

Jay Cutler had his helmet ripped off by Ndamukong Suh after a run, and he got slammed to the ground by Nick Fairley on a late hit in the third quarter.

And a few plays before Jennings’ interception, Chicago’s Lance Briggs had a hard hit on Johnson.

“It wasn’t clean and it wasn’t quiet,” Cutler said. “I know that. That’s just how it is.”

Those incidents aside, there was little drama in this one.

The Bears pulled out an easy win even though Matt Forte and Cutler did not have big games.

Forte scored the game’s first touchdown on a 6-yard run but finished with 64 yards — 40 of them on one run.

Cutler was consistently under pressure while throwing for 123 yards, but for one game it didn’t matter.

Notes: Smith said LG Chris Williams was undergoing surgery Sunday after leaving the game with a wrist injury. … Tillman tied Mike Brown and Bennie McRae for the club record with his fourth career interception return for a touchdown. He has 28 interceptions and ranks fourth on the Bears’ all-time list. … Peppers had an 11-yard sack on third down at the six that forced Detroit to kick a field goal in the second quarter. … The Lions had won six straight road games dating back to last season.

CHICAGO The Chicago Bears were all over Matthew Stafford, and now, they’re tied with the Detroit Lions.

Charles Tillman and Major Wright returned interceptions for touchdowns early in the third quarter, and Chicago picked off Stafford four times to beat Detroit 37-13 in a heated game on Sunday.

The four interceptions by Stafford matched his season total entering the game and helped knock the Lions (6-3) into a second-place tie with the Bears in the NFC North. Stafford was also involved in a skirmish that led to an ejection of Chicago’s D.J. Moore early in the fourth quarter.

By then, the Bears (6-3) had locked up their fourth straight win thanks to a dominant defence and another punt return for a touchdown by Devin Hester, who ran one back 82 yards. That extended his NFL record to 12.

Julius Peppers and Tim Jennings forced turnovers on Detroit’s first two possessions, leading to a touchdown and field goal by Chicago. Wright and Tillman returned interceptions for touchdowns on the Lions’ first two possessions of the second half to put game out of reach.

In between turnover binges, Hester caused his usual havoc before leaving with an undisclosed illness.

For a guy who was listed as questionable with a sprained left ankle, Hester sure looked good at least while he was in the game. He had already set up a field goal by Robbie Gould in the opening seconds of the second quarter with a 29-yard punt return before his long TD return along the left sideline, giving the Bears (6-3) a 20-0 lead.

The idea that the Bears would be tied with the Lions seemed far-fetched after their 24-13 Monday night loss at Ford Field last month, but the teams have gone in different directions since.

Detroit has dropped three of four after winning its first five, and this one was brutal — particularly for Stafford and Calvin Johnson.

Johnson had 81 yards on seven catches with Tillman locking him down.

Stafford completed 33 of 63 passes for 329 yards, and any shot the Lions had at a comeback ended when Wright and Tillman picked him off early in the third.

Wright returned his interception 24 yards and Tillman ran his back 44 yards for TDs that made it 34-6, sending the Lions to their first road loss after they won their first four away from Ford Field.

Things really got chippy early in the fourth quarter after Stafford threw his third interception. Jennings picked him off and got shoved hard out of bounds by Nate Burleson. While that unfolded, Stafford grabbed D.J. Moore by the helmet and threw him to the ground, setting off a confrontation that led to Moore’s ejection.

There was also some tension earlier in the game.

Jay Cutler had his helmet ripped off by Ndamukong Suh after a run, and he got slammed to the ground by Nick Fairley on a late hit in the third quarter.

And a few plays before Jennings’ interception, Chicago’s Lance Briggs had a hard hit on Johnson.

Those incidents aside, there was little drama in this one.

The Bears pulled out an easy win even though Matt Forte and Cutler were rather quiet.

Forte scored the game’s first touchdown on a six-yard run but finished with 64 yards — 40 of them on one run.

Cutler was consistently under pressure while throwing for just 123 yards, but for one game, anyway, it didn’t matter.

The Associated Press

DETROIT –

The Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears 24-13 Oct. 10 at Ford Field.

If the Lions could march into Soldier Field Sunday and get a win it would be the first time the team has swept the Bears since 2007.

The 6-2 Lions have gone 1-2 since beating the Bears (5-3). Chicago has won three-straight since the meeting with Detroit.

A loss Sunday for the Lions would place them in a tie for second place in the NFC North Division behind the Green Bay Packers.

Detroit started with a hot 5-0 record before cooling down after the Bears game. A win Sunday would be the team’s 7th-straight win on the road.

Kickoff is 4:15 p.m.

For all of its great play in the first half of the season, one of the hot topics surrounding the Detroit Lions defense was about the big run plays it gave up.

Detroit’s defense did a good job of shutting down opposing running backs, but seemed to slip up a couple of times a game, and opponents capitalized.

Well, the Chicago Bears can relate to the big-play curse.

In the teams’ first meeting, the Lions scored on an 88-yard run by Jahvid Best and a 73-yard reception by Calvin Johnson.

”It was ugly,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said in the Chicago Sun-Times. ”They had three plays for over 200 yards. So that can’t happen. If we’re gonna give that up again, we’re not gonna play well. So we’ve gotta eliminate those, and just do what we’ve been doing: run to the football, make plays, and have fun.”

The other half of the Bears’ dynamic linebacking duo, Lance Briggs, called the game a wake-up call. Limiting the big plays been a big part of their three-game winning streak heading into Sunday’s game against the Lions, who will be without the services of Best.

Chicago’s defense has allowed 33 percent fewer yards per play in the last three games than the first five. The Bears limited Philadelphia’s league-leading offense to 330 yards, despite the Eagles’ 449-yard per game average in their win on Monday Night Football last week.

It’s been the trend of recent times that by the juncture of mid-season that either the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions or both are out of contention. Well, we’re currently sitting on Week 10 of the NFL season and neither team is giving much ground these days. When the two teams meet at Soldier Field this Sunday, something’s gotta give.

The Lions (6-2) were firmly in control of their 24-13 win over the Bears (5-3) four weeks ago but the Bears have turned things around considerably since then: winning their last three games. Suddenly, if the playoffs started today, the Bears and Lions would be the wild cards. The last time the Bears and Lions both made the playoffs was in 1995. Either team still has plenty of time to fall out of contention, but they’re both in position to make a legitimate playoff run.

Both teams have a huge opportunity to start that positioning out on the the right foot with a win over the other this weekend. While the Bears have significantly improved over the last few weeks, the Lions have remained strong. They did drop a few games (Atlanta, San Francisco), but both losses came at the hands of other teams that were/are equally as hot.

All of a sudden, it’s beginning to loom large that the Bears defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. With the Falcons currently playing extremely well and the fact the Falcons beat the Lions, that win for the Bears could have an impact down the stretch. Of course, this assumes they can continue their winning ways. Also, the Bears need to take down the Lions this weekend; a tall task indeed.

As the Lions and Bears continue to jostle for position, the Green Bay Packers just keep winning. If the Bears and Lions hope to make a playoff run, they’ll have to too.

Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the National Football League throughout.

Sources

Bears Prepare For Lions

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LAKE FOREST — The Chicago Bears seem to be a little extra motivated for this weekend’s game. It’s no wonder after they were embarrassed by their NFC North division rivals in Detroit the last time the two teams met.

“It was a tough loss up there early in the season. They beat us pretty good,” Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “But we’re playing a little better right now.”

Not only was it the last time Chicago lost, but the Oct. 10 road game included a franchise-record nine false-start penalties, 14 total penalties and the Lions outscored the Bears 17-3 in the second half. Since that debacle, the Bears have really straightened up.

“Not just that game, that whole first quarter was a wake-up call,” added linebacker Lance Briggs. “The last three games have been … well … we’re making progress.”

The Lions lost two straight following the win over Chicago, but they whipped the Broncos 45-10 last weekend as they appeared to get back on track. That doesn’t matter to the Bears, who feel they are back on track as well.

“We’re ready for them this time,” defensive back D.J. Moore said.

The numbers agree. Chicago surrendered 181 rushing yards to Detroit, but have given up 202 total in three games since. The Bears’ offense had one touchdown and was 4-for-13 on third-down conversions against the Lions, but has averaged 30 points and has gone 15-for-38 on third downs since.

The defense insists its gap presence has been better, thus opponent’s big plays have stopped. On offense, the biggest improvement has been on the line.

“I think that we’re playing better as a unit right now, better than we played in Detroit,” offensive line coach Mike Tice said. “That just comes with the guys playing together.”

The Bears expect to start the same offensive line for the fourth game in a row Sunday, and they hope to avenge their ugly loss to the Lions with their fourth win in a row.

“We respect them, and they got after us pretty good up there in Detroit,” tight end Matt Spaeth said. “And now we have to try and do the same to them right here.”

This doesn’t surprise the Lions.

“They’re just playing really good football. They played good against us except for a couple big plays and that was the difference in the game,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “But it’s still the same old Bears defense. These guys are playing at a very high level, stopping the run, getting after the passer.

“They’re playing at a high level right now; but so are we.”

Note: Rookie tackle Gabe Carimi underwent arthroscopic surgery Friday to further repair his injured knee. There is no timetable on his return, though he has been ruled out for Sunday; return man and wide receiver Devin Hester is questionable.

Bears reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1384 or jtaft@rrstar.com.