Bears, Hanie Fall to Raiders

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Nov 28, 2011 4:20PM

The Bears traveled to Oakland in their first game since losing quarterback Jay Cutler to a broken thumb. While not a complete disaster, Caleb Hanie made some critical errors on Sunday that cost the Bears and ended their five game winning streak at the hands of the Raiders as they lost 25-20.

Hanie finished the game passing for 254 yards, completing 18 of his 36 passes. He threw for two touchdowns, but also threw three first half interceptions. Fortunately, the Bears defense limited Oakland to field goals for most of the afternoon to keep the game close. The third Hanie pick proved especially costly to the Bears. Down 9-7, they were inside the ten-yard line with less than 30 seconds to go in the half and looked poised to take a lead into the locker room at halftime. Instead, Kamerion Wimbley picked off Hanie and ran the ball back 73 yards before being tackled. A horse collar penalty tacked on a few yards and gave Oakland the chance for Sebastian Janikowski to hit a chip shot and extend the Raiders' lead.

Janikowski hit six field goals, giving Oakland an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter and then converting Hanie's first turnover into three more points before the quarter ended. Corey Graham picked off the Raiders' Carson Palmer and the Bears capitalized on the good field position. Hanie connected with Johnny Knox for a 29-yard TD strike that momentarily gave the Bears a lead. Oakland came right back and regained the advantage on Janikowski's third kick of the afternoon, and then took a 12-7 lead into the break following Hanie's untimely third turnover.

In the third quarter, Janikowski booted two more field goals to give the Raiders an 18-7 lead as the Bears offense struggled to move the ball. They gained only 22 yards in the quarter -- 21 on the period's final play. A pair of Robbie Gould field goals early in the final period kept the Bears within a single score. No sooner had the Bears gotten to within five points before the defense allowed their first touchdown of the day, set up by a 47-yard pass from Palmer to Louis Murphy. Hanie countered, finding Knox on an 81-yard bomb that set up a TD pass to Kellen Davis, cutting the lead to five with a little over two minutes to play.

After an unsuccessful onside kick, the Bears defense held the Raiders and the offense got the ball back with about a minute to play. Could Hanie lead the Bears to victory? Not this Sunday. With the ball around midfield and just seconds left, Hanie hesitated before spiking the ball so that he could set up the Bears' final play. Instead, a flag for intentional grounding ended the game on the penalty and the Bears came up short.

The 25-20 loss ended the Bears' winning streak at five games and dropped the team to 7-4 on the season. While the offense finally found a rhythm late in the game and the defense holding Oakland mostly to field goals, the Bears couldn't overcome the loss of their starting QB.

Looking back, it's easy to point fingers at Hanie for the Bears' loss, but Mike Martz deserves to shoulder some load. The Bears gained 172 yards on 27 carries (Marion Barber with 63 yards, Matt Forte with 59 and Hanie with 50) so why didn't the offense stick to the running game more? Given that they averaged over 6 yards per carry, why not take the pressure off a quarterback making his first start rather than asking him to throw 36 times? The play calling at the end of the first half was especially puzzling and turned out to be the most critical turning point in the game.

While not the optimal result this time, Bears fans don't need to panic just yet as the Bears adjust to life without Cutler. After the game Hanie said, "You just have to build on this game and the good things that came out and learn from the mistakes. So I’m confident that we can do that... all the guys inside have confidence in me and that gives me a great sense of urgency to get better quick."

We'll have a chance to see that improvement in Hanie's second start next Sunday, when the Bears welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to Soldier Field. We might even get a chance to see Kyle Orton take the field... for KC. (Sunday, December 4 at Noon, CBS 2, WBBM 780AM, 105.9 FM)