Bears Lose 10-3, Playoff Hopes Dimming
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Dec 5, 2011 5:20PM
Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs felt like a turning point in the Bears season, and not in a positive direction. The Bears lost Matt Forte to injury early in the game, and then lost to the Chiefs 10-3 in front of a home crowd at Soldier Field.
The offense did little on Sunday, gaining just 181 yards of total offense in Caleb Hanie's second game in relief of Jay Cutler, who's likely out for the remainder of the regular season. Hanie completed just 11 of 24 passes for 133 yards and three interceptions. Forte, the Bears' top offensive player, left the game after a shot to the knee from Derrick Johnson's helmet and did not return. Reports suggest he http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-1205-bears-forte--20111205,0,222969.storyhas a Grade 2 sprain of his medial collateral ligament, an injury that typically takes 2-4 weeks of recovery time.
In Forte's place, Marion Barber saw the most action, running for 44 yards on 14 carries while Kahlil Bell added 32 yards, with 26 coming on one run. With so little offense, a couple of unfortunate plays made all the difference in the game.
Despite managing just three points on a field goal set up by Devin Hester's 44-yard punt return, the Bears looked poised to take a lead into halftime against a team that had not scored an offensive touchdown since October. On the half's final play, Tyler Palko heaved a Hail Mary into the end zone. While linebacker Brian Urlacher jumped to snatch the ball from the air, safety Chris Conte swatted the ball down from behind. While that is what's typically taught, the ball ended up in the arms of Dexter McCluster, who was on the ground. That gave the Chiefs a 7-3 lead at the break.
After a Bears three-and-out opened the second half, the Chiefs used seven minutes and 15 plays to march down field before settling for a field goal to give them a 10-3 lead. That was all the offense on the day. The Bears had their chances to score more. In the second quarter, a wide open Barber caught a pass and strolled into the end zone but the TD was called back because Barber, lined up on the flank, wasn't on the line of scrimmage. The Bears settled for the field goal instead.
Later in the game, Robbie Gould missed a 41-yard kick. And near the end of the game, with the Bears in the red zone looking to tie, a Hanie pass bounced off the hands of Roy Williams — how many balls has he now dropped? — and KC benefited from another ricochet. The pass was picked off by safety Jon McGraw after first bouncing off both Kendrick Lewis and Derrick Johnson, neutralizing any scoring threat from the Bears on the drive.
With the ugly, ugly loss, the Bears fall to 7-5 on the season and have dropped both games played sans Cutler. We predicted that they'd only need to go 3-3 without their QB to still make the playoffs, but that now means a 3-1 finish would be necessary. And they're now going to be without Forte as well. With losses by the Lions, Falcons and Cowboys yesterday, the Bears didn't lose ground in the playoff race. But it'll be tough for them to keep pace in the NFC without their two top offensive players.
While the Bears appear snakebitten of late, they have to square off against the new "Chosen One" when they face Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos in the Mile High City next Sunday. (December 11, 3:05 p.m. - Fox 32 TV / WBBM 780AM and 105.9FM)