Two first place teams fought for the win in Chicago on Sunday, but it seems as though the harsh cold of Chicago was just too much for Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Chicago Bears played what could arguably be called their most impressive game of the season in their win against the Eagles, 31-26.
The Bears’ QB Jay Cutler matched his season high with four TD passes, pushing the Bears to hold out against a good Eagles team.
The Bears played a great game and were really active up front. Julius Peppers played an outstanding game in defense, chasing Vick around the field and forcing him to commit errors, including his first interception in four years.
"It's going to be tough to put this one on the backburner," Vick said. "We have to do it."
When the Bears are playing like they did in their Sunday game, they are quite a ferocious team to deal with.
One could clearly tell that the Eagles missed Asante Samuel. The Bears gouged the Eagles offensively, with most of the Bears big plays aimed right towards where Samuel used to be.
They took advantage of the interception leader’s absence, but hopefully Samuel will be back on Thursday in Philadelphia’s game against the Houston Texans, and provide some extra backing to the Eagles’ defense.
The Bears performed well, like an 8-3 team should. They had a good running, passing, and defensive game and every player was motivated to win.
The Bears’ defense has been playing well all season, but this was a major step, with them winning their first game in the North, and against the red hot Eagles, who have cooled down a bit now.
But just what did Cutler do?
He has been known for a long time now as having natural talent and an outrageous arm to boot, but on Sunday, he went a step further.
He out-Vicked Michael Vick!
Vick is well known for his dangerous set of skills, where he can pass as well as any other QB and can also rush as fast and well as any runningback.
Cutler threw four TDs, had no interceptions the entire game, and also scrambled more than a QB should, much like Vick does in his games since he was picked up by the Atlanta Falcons in 2001.
After the game, Cutler joked that he’s “no Michael Vick,” and only runs as a last resort, although he did add that as he’s becoming more comfortable with new offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s offense, he is noticing the results
in both games and practices.
However, the Bears defense doesn’t see Cutler scramble much in practice.
As safety Chris Harris jokingly said, “He knows we can’t hit him, so he’s a lot more scared of other defenses and ready to take off and run for them, than he is from us.”
"It was a big game for us," Cutler said. "We talked about it in there. We have to keep going. We have to put this behind us. The true test in this league is consistency, especially in November and December, whether it's third downs,
red zone, turnovers or winning ballgames. We just have to keep going."
The game started with Philadelphia’s David Akers kicking a 45 yard field goal, followed by Chicago making two TDs in the first quarter alone. One was from Cutler to Earl Bennett for 10 yards and the second was from Cutler to Johnny
Knox for 20 yards. At the end of the first, the Bears were up 14-3.
In the second, the Eagles opened the quarter by scoring a TD less than two minutes in, with an 8 yard pass from Vick to Jeremy Maclin. Five minutes later, Akers kicked a 36 yard field goal to bring the Eagles within one point of
the Bears at 14-13.
However, the Bears just took off from there. They scored another TD with 38 seconds left in the first half and a TD and field goal in the third quarter, making it 31-13 at the end of the third.
In the third, Akers kicked two field goals and Vick made a 30 yard TD pass to Brent Celek to end the game at 31-26.
The Bears will face the Detroit Lions in Week 13, while the Eagles will be at home against the Texans.
Stay tuned!
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