A Team of Destiny
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Oct 17, 2006 12:59PM
We're stunned! Absolutely stunned! And so are you! Unless you were already in bed, disappointed that the Bears wouldn't go undefeated this year. And then you were stunned when you woke up this morning.
The Bears' entire team played terribly in the first half, and their offense made last year's look potent for the entire game. Rex Grossman threw 4 interceptions to go along with two fumbles. Yet the Bears somehow erased a number of 20-point deficits to beat the Arizona Cardinals 24-23 on Monday Night Football.
After a half that saw everything go wrong, the Bears entered halftime down 20-0 to a team with just one win entering the game. While the defense seemed to come out with a renewed energy in the third quarter, the two teams traded field goals, and the Bears remained down 23-3 with just seconds left in the quarter.
The final 15:10 of the game saw the Bears pull out the miracle of miracles. With just :10 left in the third quarter, the Bears forced a Matt Leinart fumble that Mike "Big Play" Brown ran back for a TD. With about 5:00 left in the game, an Edgerrin James fumble was returned 40 yards for a TD -- this time by Peanut Tillman. With the score suddenly 23-17 and 5:00 on the clock, every Bears fan began wondering if they actually could pull this thing out! A little over 3:00 remaining, rookie punt returner Devin Hester took a punt back 83 yards for a TD. The ensuing extra point put the Bears ahead 24-23. WTF?!? The Bears are actually winning! Arizona drove right back down the field in the final minutes, but kicker Neil Rackers -- who set the NFL mark with 40 field goals last year -- missed a relatively easy 41-yarder with :48 left. A couple Bears kneel downs, and they held on to win.
Monday night's win puts the Bears at 6-0 heading into their bye week. For only the second time in team history, they came back from down 20. For the first time in NFL history, a team did so without a single offensive touchdown. And tonight's win proves that the Bears are a great team. Good teams win when they play well. Great teams find a way to win even when they play like crap. Wins like this propel teams to bigger and better things. Already looking like Super Bowl favorites, the Bears truly look like a team of destiny now.