Bears Alone in First

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Oct 31, 2005 5:20PM

The Bears and Detroit Lions faced off yesterday in Detroit with first place in the NFC North at stake. While they couldn't finish the job in regulation, the Bears eventually beat the Lions -- winning 19-13 when Peanut Tillman ran an interception back for a TD in overtime. After Tillman picked off Lion QB Jeff Garcia, safety Mike Brown pointed him towards the end zone. Just in case he didn't know where it was, because Brown sure does. You'll remember him running back interceptions for winning TDs on overtime in consecutive weeks back in 2001 -- the first of those off the same Jeff Garcia when he played for the 49ers.

The winning TD capped a day that saw the Bears defense play its usual tough game and some flashes from a few key rookies. QB Kyle orton threw for 230 yards, his most as a pro. Rookie Wide Receiver Mark Bradley caught 5 of those passes for 88 yards, including a 54 yarder that's the longest completion of Orton's career. And even the forgotten Cedric Benson finally looked like he's adjusting to the pro game. With Thomas Jones injured, Benson played during overtime and rushed 3 times for 35 yards.

With the Bears rookies contributing more each week, and an effective 2 game division lead as a result of sweeping the Lions this year (tiebreaker in case of tied records), the Bears seem to be in the driver's seat in the NFC North. The Vikings (2-5) and Packers (1-6) both lost again yesterday, so they're quickly fading from playoff contention. The Bears are by no means a great team, but somebody from the "Black-&-Blue" division makes the playoffs and the Bears seem to have the best shot. It's hard to believe!

Photo via Yahoo!News