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.

“It’s fractured but it’s not bad,” Stafford said, adding that a wind with gusts around 30 mph created the most difficulty.

He sported the glove to help him get a better grip on the football

“I felt fine with it. I felt like I made some real good throws with it and obviously made some tough throws with it,” he said.

After Bears’ defensive backs Major Wright and Charles Tillman returned interceptions for TDs on Detroit’s first two series of the third quarter, Stafford was involved in a skirmish after throwing a third pick to Tim Jennings.

During the return, Stafford threw Chicago’s D.J. Moore down and Moore didn’t like it. He got up to retaliate, running at Stafford while he was still on the ground.

That started a mini melee in front of the Lions’ bench and after everything was settled out, Moore was ejected.

“He kind of blocked me and I was just trying to get him off me the 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.”

Stafford was asked if he liked the way he tried to rid himself of Moore’s block:

“Yep,” he said.

Stafford was 33 of 63 for 329 yards as the Lions went to the air after falling behind when they committed two fumbles after receptions in the first quarter.

The Lions finished with six turnovers — four interceptions and two fumbles — which is one more than they had all season entering the game. They had lost just one fumble and Stafford had thrown only four picks before matching that total in one half Sunday.

And now their 5-0 start is being clouded by three losses in the last four games.

“We have to own up to this game,” said Detroit coach Jim Schwartz. “We put it out there and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again. … The tale today was turnovers.’”

Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson fumbled after catching passes in the first quarter and the Bears moved in for points both times. Penalties on Detroit defensive linemen Kyle Vanden Bosch and Cliff Avril helped Chicago get into position for a 10-0 lead.

And Johnson and Tony Scheffler couldn’t hold on to potential TD passes from Stafford. The Lions reached the Bears 11 late in the third, only to come away with no points. Detroit finally got a TD with five minutes left when Scheffler held on to a 10-yard scoring pass from Stafford.

Stafford drove the Lions to the Chicago 10 and a second time to the 6 in the second quarter but both times Detroit settled for a field goal. Julius Peppers, who pursued the young Detroit QB all day, sacked him on a third down from the 6 to force the second of two field goals by Jason Hanson. That made it 20-6 at the half.

Punter Robert Malone, signed Friday because of an injury to Ryan Donahue, got off a long punt but Hester had time to gather it, get a bearing on Detroit fast-approaching coverage and then take off, tip-toeing down the sideline and racing in, an 82-yard return — his 12th career punt return for a score.

That the Bears (6-3) would be tied with the Lions (6-3) for second place in the NFC North 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,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “NFC division game at home we just couldn’t afford another loss. We’ve gotten better and better each week.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

PHILADELPHIA –

Feeling disrespected and overlooked, the Chicago Bears made the Philadelphia Eagles look like a noncontender.

Jay Cutler threw a go-ahead 5-yard TD pass to Earl Bennett, Matt Forte ran for 133 yards, and the Bears rallied to beat the Eagles 30-24 on Monday night.

“The Chicago Bears should not be 8-point underdogs in a game like this on the road. And our guys played like they felt that way,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “We feel like we have a pretty good team that is not getting a lot of respect.”

It was a crushing loss for Michael Vick and the Eagles (3-5), who blew a fourth-quarter lead for the fourth time this season. Jeremy Maclin fell down and was tackled at the Chicago 30 after a 9-yard catch on fourth and 10 with just under two minutes left, and the Bears ran out the clock.

The defending NFC East champions trail the New York Giants (6-2) by three games in a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations.

“You can’t let opportunities like this slip away,” Vick said. “Whatever happened tonight that can be corrected has to be corrected.”

Chicago (5-3) won its third consecutive game, but remains third in the NFC North behind Green Bay (8-0) and Detroit (6-2).

“We knew it was going to be a fourth-quarter game. And the defense kept us in it, and gave us a chance,” Cutler said.

After LeSean McCoy’s 33-yard touchdown run following Forte’s second fumble gave the Eagles a 24-17 lead in the third quarter, the Bears answered with 13 consecutive points.

Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal to cut it to 24-20, and then Chicago’s defense forced a punt after three plays.

The Bears drove 51 yards for the go-ahead score, with Cutler tossing a 5-yard TD pass to Bennett over Asante Samuel for a 27-24 lead.

“All you ever hear is DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and all of the plays that they can make,” Bennett said of Philadelphia’s standout receivers. “So, we just wanted to go out there, make some plays, and prove the critics wrong.”

The Eagles reached the Bears 42 on their next drive. On fourth and 6, punter Chas Henry bounced a pass to a wide-open Colt Anderson on a fake punt and Chicago took over.

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Feeling disrespected and overlooked, the Chicago Bears
made the Philadelphia Eagles look like a non-contender.

Jay Cutler(notes) threw a go-ahead 5-yard TD pass to Earl Bennett(notes), Matt Forte(notes) ran
for 133 yards and the Bears rallied to beat the Eagles 30-24 on Monday night.

“The Chicago Bears should not be 8-point underdogs in a game like this on
the road. And our guys played like they felt that way,” Bears coach Lovie Smith
said. “We feel like we have a pretty good team that is not getting a lot of
respect.”

It was a crushing loss for Michael Vick(notes) and the Eagles (3-5), who blew a
fourth-quarter lead for the fourth time this season. Jeremy Maclin(notes) fell down and
was tackled at the Chicago 30 after a 9-yard catch on fourth-and-10 with just
under two minutes left, and the Bears ran out the clock.

The defending NFC East champions trail the New York Giants (6-2) by three
games in a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations.

“You can’t let opportunities like this slip away,” Vick said. “Whatever
happened tonight that can be corrected has to be corrected.”

Chicago (5-3) won its third straight game, but remains third in the NFC
North behind Green Bay (8-0) and Detroit (6-2).

“We knew it was going to be a fourth-quarter game. And the defense kept us
in it, and gave us a chance,” Cutler said.

After LeSean McCoy’s(notes) 33-yard touchdown run following Forte’s second fumble
gave the Eagles a 24-17 lead in the third quarter, the Bears answered with 13
straight points.

Robbie Gould(notes) kicked a 38-yard field goal to cut it to 24-20, and then
Chicago’s defense forced a punt after three plays.

The Bears drove 51 yards for the go-ahead score, with Cutler tossing a
5-yard TD pass to Bennett over Asante Samuel(notes) for a 27-24 lead.

“All you ever hear is DeSean Jackson(notes) and Jeremy Maclin and all of the plays
that they can make,” Bennett said of Philadelphia’s standout receivers. “So,
we just wanted to go out there, make some plays, and prove the critics wrong.”

The Eagles reached the Bears 42 on their next drive. On fourth-and-6, punter
Chas Henry(notes) bounced a pass to a wide-open Colt Anderson(notes) and Chicago took over.

Henry, recruited as a quarterback at Florida, spent a lot of time throwing
passes to long snapper Jon Dorenbos(notes) on the sideline in the second quarter,
presumably warming up for the fake punt. He got his chance and badly underthrew
the pass.

“Pretty seldom do we have a guy completely uncovered and have a chance to
make a big play. We didn’t execute,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said.

The Bears took advantage. A pass interference penalty on Nnamdi Asomugha(notes) at
the Eagles 7 prolonged the drive. The defense stiffened and Gould hit a
22-yarder to extend the lead to 30-24.

Trent Cole(notes) knocked the ball loose from Forte following a 6-yard run midway
through the third quarter, and Mike Patterson(notes) recovered at the Bears 41. Forte
was originally ruled down, but the play was overturned when the Eagles
challenged.

Two plays later, McCoy sprinted down the left side and into the end zone to
score for the eighth straight game, tying Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren’s club
record.

In a matchup featuring two of the game’s best running backs, Forte outplayed
McCoy except for the two fumbles.

McCoy had 71 yards rushing.

The Eagles tied it at 17 on Ronnie Brown’s(notes) 4-yard TD run that capped an
80-yard drive to open the second half. The TD was Brown’s first since joining
the Eagles. Brown was one of six former Pro Bowl players acquired by
Philadelphia in the offseason. He hadn’t made much of a contribution and was
traded to Detroit last month only to have the deal voided because Jerome
Harrison(notes) didn’t pass a physical.

The Bears took a 17-10 halftime lead on Marion Barber’s(notes) 2-yard TD run after
a costly fumble by Jackson.

Jackson, a Pro Bowl punt returner, was stripped by Corey Graham(notes) and the
Bears recovered at the Eagles 9 with a minute left in the second quarter.

A roughing-the-passer penalty on Jason Babin(notes) gave Chicago a first down at
the Eagles 2 after Cutler threw an incomplete pass on third down. Barber then
ran in from the 2.

Cutler threw a 5-yard TD pass to Matt Spaeth(notes) and Gould kicked a 51-yard
field goal to help the Bears build an early 10-0 advantage.

Rookie Alex Henery(notes) kicked a career-best 47-yard field goal for the Eagles,
and the defense made a big play on Chicago’s ensuing series late in the second
quarter.

Forte caught a short pass from Cutler, but Brian Rolle(notes) punched the ball out.
Rolle picked it up and ran 22 yards for a TD that tied it at 10.

Helped by a pass interference call on Major Wright(notes) that kept their second
drive going, the Eagles reached the Bears 19 early in the second quarter. But
Vick made a poor throw into double coverage that was picked off by Wright, who
returned it 36 yards to the Bears 48.

The teams met for the fifth straight year. Chicago has won four of those
games. Beloved former Eagles coach Buddy Ryan was honored at halftime.

Vick was 21 of 38 for 213 yards and one interception. He fell to 0-4 as a
starter against the Bears.

Cutler was 18 of 32 for 208 yards and two TDs.

Ryan, who is battling cancer, was Chicago’s defensive coordinator during
their Super Bowl championship season in 1985. He came to Philadelphia the next
season and led the Eagles to the playoffs from 1988-90.

Ryan got a loud ovation and fans chanted “Buddy! Buddy!”

NOTES: Eagles FS Nate Allen(notes) left with a concussion. … Bears return
specialist Devin Hester(notes) left with an ankle injury. … Reid coaches his 200th
regular-season game.

Philadelphia • Matt Forte was standing on the sideline after losing two fumbles and Chicago faced a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter.

No problem for Jay Cutler and these resilient Bears.

Cutler threw a go-ahead 5-yard TD pass to Earl Bennett, Forte ran for 133 yards and the Bears rallied to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 30-24 on Monday night.

“We cannot afford to fall behind against anyone in this league, so we needed a good start,” Forte said. “We had that, and even with that fast start, we still fell behind against that team. But we stayed focused and recovered. We tried not to worry about the past, and just focus on the next play. For us, that is the key.”

It was a crushing loss for Michael Vick and the Eagles (3-5), who blew a fourth-quarter lead for the fourth time this season. Jeremy Maclin fell down and was tackled at the Chicago 30 after a 9-yard catch on fourth-and-10 with just under two minutes left, and the Bears ran out the clock.

The defending NFC East champions trail the New York Giants (6-2) by three games.

“We need to keep getting better,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “We have to continue to work hard and learn from our mistakes.”

Chicago (5-3) won its third straight game, but remains third in the NFC North behind Green Bay (8-0) and Detroit (6-2). The Bears entered as an 8-point underdog despite coming off a bye.

Story continues below

After LeSean McCoy’s 33-yard touchdown run following Forte’s second fumble gave the Eagles a 24-17 lead in the third quarter, the Bears answered with 13 straight points.

Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal to cut it to 24-20, and then Chicago’s defense forced a punt after three plays.

The Bears drove 51 yards for the go-ahead score, with Cutler tossing a 5-yard TD pass to Bennett over Asante Samuel for a 27-24 lead.

“All you ever hear is DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and all of the plays that they can make,” Bennett said of Philadelphia’s standout receivers. “So, we just wanted to go out there, make some plays, and prove the critics wrong.”

The Eagles reached the Bears 42 on their next drive. On fourth-and-6, punter Chas Henry bounced a pass to a wide-open Colt Anderson and Chicago took over.

Henry, recruited as a quarterback at Florida, spent a lot of time throwing passes to long snapper Jon Dorenbos on the sideline in the second quarter, presumably warming up for the fake punt. He got his chance and badly underthrew the pass.

“Pretty seldom do we have a guy completely uncovered and have a chance to make a big play. We didn’t execute,” Reid said.

The Bears took advantage. A pass interference penalty on Nnamdi Asomugha at the Eagles 7 prolonged the drive. The defense stiffened and Gould hit a 22-yarder to extend the lead to 30-24.

Next Page »

NFL

PHILADELPHIA — Matt Forte bounced back from two costly turnovers and Jay Cutler rallied the resilient Chicago Bears to a 30-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

Cutler threw a go-ahead 5-yard TD pass to Earl Bennett in the fourth quarter, Forte ran for 133 yards and the Bears (5-3) won their third straight game.

It was a crushing loss for Michael Vick and the Eagles (3-5), who blew a fourth-quarter lead for the fourth time this season. Jeremy Maclin fell down and was tackled at the Bears 30 after a 9-yard catch on fourth-and-10 with just under two minutes left.

The defending NFC East champions trail the New York Giants (6-2) by three games.

Chicago is third in the NFC North behind Green Bay (8-0) and Detroit (6-2).

In developments

Munchak stays optimistic: Mike Munchak and the Tennessee Titans are choosing to be optimistic midway through the season, seeing the eight remaining games as a chance to go streaking toward the playoffs.

First, they better figure out how to stop the rollercoaster ride of the first eight games.

The Titans (4-4) have lost three of four, wasting a three-game homestand with a 24-17 loss to Cincinnati in which they blew a 10-point halftime lead. Now it only gets tougher with five of their final games on the road starting Sunday with a visit to Carolina (2-6).

Munchak said Monday they’re not happy about losing games at home and that the Titans face a lot of work ahead. He says the Titans have seen what they’re capable of in flashes and just need consistency.

Injury updates: Tampa Bay defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and St. Louis wide receiver Greg Salas are done for the season.

McCoy, chosen third in the 2010 draft, tore his right biceps Sunday during the opening quarter of a 27-16 defeat to New Orleans. McCoy had just returned to the lineup after sitting out the previous two games because of an ankle sprain.

It’s the second straight year his season ended prematurely because of an arm injury. McCoy missed the final three games of his rookie year with a torn left biceps.

Salas will undergo surgery for a broken right leg. The rookie leads the team with 27 receptions. He was injured when a tackler rolled on him after a 5-yard catch in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s overtime loss at Arizona.

49ers running back Frank Gore injured his left ankle Sunday and had X-rays, which were negative. He was clearly sore and needed help getting off the postgame podium in Washington.

Gore, who has five straight 100-yard games, said he expects to practice this week and play against the New York Giants.

“I’ll be all right. I’m cool. Just checking up some things on my body. Yeah, I’ll be all right,” Gore said.

Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin left in the second quarter against Seattle with a right hamstring injury and didn’t return. Austin is expected to be out for as long as a month.

Haley gets vote of confidence: Coach Todd Haley will be moving into the final year of his contract next year, and while general manager Scott Pioli wouldn’t say whether the Chiefs would extend his contract, his comments seemed to indicate they would.

Pioli praised Haley on Monday in an interview with The Kansas City Star.

“I think he’s doing a good job of growing into the job,” Pioli said. “He’s adjusted well to changes in personnel, changes in roster. He’s adjusted well to staff changes. This team has continued to evolve and continued to develop. Players have developed well. That’s Todd and the whole coaching staff.”

Bills looking for kicker: Injuries are piling up for the Buffalo Bills, who are searching for a kicker and face the possibility of losing starting defensive tackle Kyle Williams for the rest of the season.

Coach Chan Gailey on Monday described the injury to kicker Rian Lindell’s right shoulder as “not good.” Without being definitive, Gailey said Lindell either broke something or nearly had his shoulder pop out a day earlier in a 27-11 loss to the New York Jets.

Monday night’s game features two of the league’s best running backs.

US PRESSWIRE

LAKE FOREST — Never mind the record, things sure feel different this time around for the Chicago Bears.

Just like last year, they’re 4-3 at their break; only they’re rolling, not stumbling, into it. They’re looking more like a playoff team, not one that was coming apart. And the question now is whether they can keep it going, not whether they can turn it around.

“I’ve seen the identity of our team,” coach Lovie Smith said. “I’ve seen what I would like for it to look like. Our foundation is based on running the football. We’ve been able to do that lately, well. On the other side of the football, it’s about stopping the run. We’ve done that well the last couple weeks. We know what we can do with our special teams. From there, we’ll just continue to grow.

“I like having the entire roster available for us. When we get back, we’ll have some tough decisions to make on game day, and you want to be in that position.”

Back-to-back wins over Minnesota at home and Tampa Bay in London got the Bears on track after a rough start, with the offense starting to click and the defense holding its ground. They’ve gained two games on second-place Detroit in the NFC North and trail the Lions by just one.

They still have room to improve, but at least they’re looking better than they did a year ago.

The Bears stumbled into the break with three losses in four games, hardly looking like a team that would win the division and advance to the NFC championship game. The way Jay Cutler was getting knocked around, Matt Forte ignored and the blockers plowed over, they looked more like a bunch in dire need of a makeover. But they turned things around in a big way, finishing 11-5 and making the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 team’s Super Bowl run.

A schedule that helped their cause last year — they faced some weak teams and backup quarterbacks — isn’t so kind this fall. They go to Philadelphia for a Monday night game after the bye, then host Detroit and San Diego before playing at Oakland. Even so, there’s less angst heading into this bye week despite some awfully familiar sights in the early going.

Cutler got pounded. The run got ignored. The blockers gave defenses free passes, and when the quarterback had enough time, Forte had no room to run. At times, it seemed Mike Martz was again trying to force-feed his system to a team that wasn’t suited to run it. And a defense that was expected to lead the way wasn’t helping matters, allowing too many big plays and forcing too few turnovers.

The past few weeks have been a different story.

The Bears clamped down against Minnesota, limiting Adrian Peterson to 39 yards rushing in a 39-10 rout. Against Tampa Bay, they made Josh Freeman miserable, intercepting him four times in a 24-18 victory. That was more like it for a team that leads the league in takeaways since Smith took over as coach in 2004. And while the defense did its job, Forte went wild again.

He ran for 145 yards against the Buccaneers and is third in the league with 672 this season. No one has as many yards from scrimmage as Forte (1,091), who could challenge the record set by Tennessee’s Chris Johnson (2,509) in 2009.

And with Earl Bennett eyeing a return from his chest injury next week against Philadelphia and tackle Gabe Carimi (knee) inching closer to a comeback, the offense figures to get a boost in the coming weeks.

“There’s so much football to be played in the second half,” Cutler said. “November and December is really where you kind of come together, and where playoff teams are made. So we feel good about what we’re doing.

“We’ve just got to keep improving, and take a look at what we’ve done the first seven games — what we’re good at, what we’re not good at — and get a good game plan for going forward.”

LONDON (Reuters) – The Chicago Bears intercepted quarterback Josh Freeman four times and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-18 Sunday in the National Football League‘s (NFL) fifth annual regular season game at Wembley Stadium.

The Bears dominated until the final quarter when Freeman rallied the Bucs with touchdown passes to Kellen Winslow and Dezmon Briscoe but hopes of a comeback ended when D.J. Moore picked off Freeman again with 36 seconds left.

“Our defense got us out of some tough spots in the second half,” said Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. “The way (running back) Matt (Forte) is playing, running the football, we are definitely headed in the right direction.”

It was a miserable return to London for Tampa Bay who were shredded 35-7 by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at Wembley in 2009. Freeman made his NFL debut that night when he came in late to run out the clock in the fourth quarter.

He again left disappointed as Sunday’s defeat left Tampa Bay with a 4-3 record in the NFC South, the same as the Bears whose victory allowed them to keep tabs on NFC North rivals Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.

Tampa Bay’s run defense has been inconsistent all season and the Bears were able to establish their running game through Forte who rumbled for a 32-yard score in the first quarter and 145 yards in all in front of nearly 77,000 fans in London.

By contrast, Tampa Bay suffered a major blow when Earnest Graham, starting in place of injured running back LeGarrette Blount, sustained an ankle injury early in the first quarter and sat out the rest of the game.

That put the pressure on Freeman to produce but he could not find his rhythm or range until the final quarter with the Buccaneers trailing 21-5.

Freeman completed 29 of 51 attempts for 264 yards while opposite number Cutler was picked off twice. Cutler threw for a touchdown and 226 yards in all.

Forte’s slaloming run put the Bears on the scoreboard first in a first quarter in which both quarterbacks were shaky.

SMOTHERING Defense

Tenard Jackson intercepted Cutler to put the Bucs in great scoring position but Freeman was intercepted near the one yard line. But the Bucs did not go away empty handed as a smothering defense then forced a safety.

Cutler found Roy Williams with a 25-yard pass midway through the second quarter, the wide receiver skipping into the corner of the end zone to put the Bears in control.

Freeman finally got the Bucs moving when he engineered a 75-yard drive late in the half that set up Connor Barth’s 33-yard field goal and cut the deficit to 14-5.

Tampa Bay’s offensive struggles continued after the restart and the Bears punished them again when Marion Barber capped a 55-yard scoring drive with a 12-yard run to extend the lead.

On the Buccaneers’ next possession, Freeman was intercepted by Lance Briggs who returned the ball to the one-yard line but the play was returned to midfield for an illegal block.

Freeman’s woes continued when he was intercepted again early in the fourth quarter but Cutler was then picked off by Corey Lynch at the Chicago 35 and this time Freeman made them pay, tossing a two-yard pass to Winslow.

Tampa Bay were starting to find holes in the Bears defense and Freeman picked out Briscoe with a 24-yard pass for a touchdown to bring the hosts within three points.

Gould’s field goal made it 24-18 with 1:55 to go and Freeman could not engineer another rally.

“Every game we’ve lost has been a winnable game. But I’m really happy with our preparation, we just have to go out and execute on Sundays,” lamented Freeman. “It was a good trip. Nobody was messing around.”

The Bucs are the first team to return to London for a regular-season game since the league began playing in the capital in 2007. The NFL decided this month to keep playing in London through to at least 2016.

(Additional reporting by Nigel Hunt and Tom Pilcher, Editing by Frank Pingue)