Brees leads Bears to road victory

by Chris Bearman

Blogger, Chicago Tribune

To all those fans and general managers that wrote Drew Brees off as a 39 year old quarterback who didn't have the arm or ability left to lead a GFML franchise...thank you.

Brees proved after two less than stellar outings that he still has ability, throwing for over 300 yards in a 37-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles and Lincoln Financial Field Thursday night.

The game started with a big play for the Eagles, however, as less than two minutes into the game Eagles quarterback Steven Sturdivant hit Tank Graham streaking past a beaten Dwayne Gratz for a 61 yard strike and a 7-0 lead.

Coach Bob Winuvas would light into his defense, telling them to protect over the top for any future bombs while the offense went out onto the field. The Bears' run game was contained well, but Brees found Kevin White for a 32 yard catch and run on a drag play to tie the game at 7 with just over 4 minutes left in the first quarter.

The Bears' defense would respond to the shoutfest of Coach Winuvas by getting the first turnover of the game, as Manti Te'o would step in front of a Steven Sturdivant pass and take it into Eagles' territory. However, the offense would sputter, forcing a punt...that was flubbed by DeMarco Murray and recovered in the end zone by the Bears' special teams, upping the score to 14-7 late in the first.

The defenses would lock down at that point, with no further scoring done until midway through the second quarter, as Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby would step in front of a Drew Brees pass, pick it off, and return it 46 yards to the house and a 14-14 tie.

Undaunted, Brees would continue to pick the Eagles' secondary apart, focusing on cornerback Byron Maxwell. The veteran committed a few penalties that would get the Bears just across midfield. Brees would find tight end Virgil Green on a corner route off a play action and Green would take it 46 yards to the end zone and regain the lead for Chicago, 21-14.

A Bears' field goal from 28 yards out by Sean Carmichael would extend the lead at halftime to 24-14.

The Bears would take the opening second half kickoff down the field, but once again a stout Eagles' defense would hold the Bears to a long 57 yard field goal by Carmichael. Down 13 points, the Eagles would attempt a rarity - a fake field goal - early in the 4th quarter that the Bears' special teams would stop. A big run of 41 yards by Ryan Mathews would get the Bears deep into Eagles' territory, and a few plays later, Reynaldo Ball would cash in from 2 yards out to extend the Bears' advantage to 34-14.

The Eagles would drive midway through the 4th quarter and fight into the end zone with a Tre Walden 2 yard touchdown run to narrow the lead to 34-21. The Bears would drive for 3 minutes and get close enough to kick a 38 yard field goal to extend the lead to 37-21 with just under 3 minutes to play.

The Bears' defense would end the game with a Dont'a Hightower strip of Eagles' halfback Tre Walden late in the fourth. Brees would kneel out the clock.

For the Bears, Drew Brees was on fire, going 18 of 23 for 319 yards and 2 touchdowns along with a pick 6 interception. The running game was off kilter all game, with Reynaldo Ball getting 13 carries for 31 yards and Ryan Mathews getting 5 carries for 48 yards (with a 41 long). The receiving was led by Kevin White (4/153/1 TD), but Brees found 9 different receivers on the day. Defensively, safety Jordan Poyer led the team in tackles with 3, but cornerback Malik Francois (1 sack), defensive lineman Leonard Williams (1 sack), and linebackers Manti Te'o (2 tackles, 1 INT) and Dont'a Hightower (1 FF, 1 tackle) contributed positively on the stat sheet.

For the Eagles, Steven Sturdivant had a solid game, going 12 of 21 for 198 yards and a touchdown to go with a pick. The run game was no help, as Tre Walden got 8 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown, but fumbled once. The receiving was led by Tank Graham's 4 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown, but after the 61 yard bomb, no further big plays were earned by the Eagles. Defensively, lineman Mario Williams had a field day against second-year pro Trey Diaz, getting 6 tackles and 2 sacks in a losing cause.

"We're playing well right now, but it's a week-to-week thing for me," Coach Winuvas said of the hot start. "Every week, in my mind, we're 0-0. No cause for celebration yet - we haven't won a damn thing. We have tough opponents coming up that we need to prepare for - we will enjoy this victory today, take a day off, and get back to work for the Patriots."

The Bears (3-0) travel to Foxboro to take on the aforementioned Patriots next week, while the Eagles (1-2) travel to Dallas to take on a surging Cowboys squad.

Can the Bears continue their hot start and ride some momentum heading into the bye week in two plus weeks? Or will the Bears start to fade a bit as the season wears on?