Bears Pull Away Late, Separate From Lions

NFL News - October 4th, 2009 - Written by John

The Bears finally got out of Matt Forte what they were waiting for. The sophomore ran for nearly as many yards as he had all year, rushing for 121 and a touchdown to lead the Bears to a comfortable 48-24 win over the Lions. The Bears became only the third team to score 40, joining the Saints, who did it in each of the first two weeks, and the Eagles who did it in Week Two. It is also the second time the Lions have surrendered that amount this year.

Quarterback Jay Cutler added two touchdown passes to the cause and ran for a third. But it was Forte's day, and he took the wind out of Detroit's sails on the heels of winning their first game in nearly three years. His 37-yard touchdown scamper late in the fourth quarter couldn't have come at a better time, taking a surmountable 10-point lead to a 41-24 score that sent everyone at New Soldier Field into a frenzy.

His counterpart, Matthew Stafford had another good game, throwing for 296 yards on 24 completions. But he was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter when he injured his right knee, and Daunte Culpepper had to fill in.

For the fourth straight week, Detroit stayed competitive through the first half. They have never trailed at the break but somehow managed to let another nail-biter turn into a laugher. They actually had more first downs than the Bears by a wide 25 to 14 margin and ran 28 more plays. They far out-gained the division rivals, throwing for 308 yards compared to the Bears 125. But Chicago was able to score quickly, and got a burst of life in the start of the half, when Johnny Knox took the opening kickoff 102 yards to the house to make it 28-21.

It was all down hill from there. Robbie Gould hit back-to-back field goals in the third and the Bears outscored Detroit 27-3 in the second half.

It wasn't all bad for Detroit. Running back Kevin Smith, who was nursing a sore shoulder all week, didn't seem a bit off beat. He took two of his handoffs for touchdowns and appeared to be a good compliment to Stafford's arm.

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