Bears win a 38-34 thriller over Jets..
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on December 26, 2010
A pair of physical & hard-hitting defenses took a back seat on Sunday afternoon, as the Chicago Bears were able to hold off the New York Jets 38-34 in a wild shootout from Soldier Field.
The Bears got out to a favorable start, as they used a big Jets penalty & turnover to create an early 10-0 lead on Matt Forte’s 22-yard touchdown run.
New York then struck for 2 touchdowns in a 64-second span, as Shonn Greene’s 3-yard run got them within 3.
Dwight Lowery quickly gave them the lead, as he returned a Jay Cutler interception 20 yards for a touchdown, as the Jets went ahead 14-10.
The 2nd quarter explosion continued, as LaDainian Tomlinson reached paydirt from 3 yards out to give New York a 21-10 lead with 5:44 left until halftime.
The game then shifted towards the Bears’ favor to end the first half, as Cutler ran in a 1-yard score with 2:44 remaining to put Chicago within 4 points.
The Jets then had to settle for a late field goal after Dustin Keller dropped an apparent 8-yard touchdown catch from Mark Sanchez.
The Bears wasted no time tying it up after their defense forced a 3-and-out drive to begin the 3rd quarter, as Cutler hooked up with Johnny Knox on a 40-yard touchdown bomb to tie it 24-24.
Chicago again scored nearly 3 minutes later, as Cutler found Devin Hester for a 25-yard touchdown to put the team back up 31-24.
New York responded with a touchdown in a little under 2 minutes, as Sanchez hooked up with Santonio Holmes on a 23-yard score to tie it 31-31.
Cutler then tossed the game-winning touchdown to Knox, who continued his monster 3rd quarter with a 26-yard grab to put the Bears up 38-31.
Nick Folk’s 38-yard field goal in the 4th quarter made it 38-34, as Sanchez’s potential game-winning drive was ruined by a Chris Harris interception.
Jay Cutler could again be in line for a strong finish, as he completed 13 of 25 passes for 215 yards while throwing for 3 touchdowns & 1 interception.
Matt Forte enjoyed a big day against a solid Jets’ run defense, as he ran 19 times for 111 yards (third 100-yard game of the season) & scored 1 touchdown.
Rex Ryan was informed during his postgame media session that the Jets clinched a playoff berth with the Jaguars’ overtime loss, and said:
“By the way, I think we’re in the playoffs. Not the way I wanted it, but I’ll take it.”
The Bears still have a chance to clinch one of the top two seeds in the NFC, and will also have an opportunity to eliminate Green Bay from the playoffs next Sunday at 12pm CST from Lambeau Field.
