The new look Mike Martz offense, with five man protection, is giving Jay Cutler time in the pocket to use his the suddenly classical style of offence to attack the Eagles. It is not the greatest show on turf and Cutler is not Warner, but he can make the throws when given the time.
Having two rookies along the offensive line was a tough match-up for the veteran Bears defence. Danny Watkins at right guard and Jason Kelce at centre had a tough time picking up Urlacher and Briggs coming through on the blitz while dealing with Julius Peppers moving around the line.
Vick had to step back and get his throws off on three step drops rather than his usual five early in the game. Jackson and Maclin were unable to get down the field and attack the Bears secondary.
Vick started to panic in the first half. He tried to force plays with his legs like he did in his early days with the Falcons. He threw a pick on a drive deep into Bears territory in the first half when he did not see Lance Briggs dropping back into coverage. This is a mistake that he would not have made last week. He was noticeably frustrated, and looked like a shell of a man that dominated the Cowboys last week.
LeSean McCoy, who coming into the game was being called a top five back in the league by many, was also a victim of the early schemes that Rod Marinelli put together for the Bears.
Once rookie tackle Gabe Carimi returns to action, the Bears offensive live could both provide the protection for Cutler and create the holes for Forte needed to allow Chicago to win games down the road
The Eagles secondary got banged up early when Nate Allen went down with a concussion and Asante Samuel lacerated his..groin. Samuel returned in the second quarter, but Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie proved why the Cardinals were more than happy to rim themselves of the corner.
The Bears got the ball with a 10-3 lead late in the first half, but Matt Forte caught a pass in the left flat and disaster occurred. Trent Cole swooped in and stripped the ball, picked it up and scampered in for a touchdown to tie the game late in the half.
But Jay Cutler got back on the field and drove the Bears back down the field after the Eagles tied the game. Marion Barber capped off the drive with a dive into the end zone, and the Bears restored confidence heading into halftime. Despite controlling the game for the majority of the first half, the Bears escaped with just a seven point lead.
The second half kicked off with a brand new Eagles team. Vick looked poised under centre, as he completed passes to three different receivers and LeSean McCoy finally found his legs. They drove down the field with ease and tied the game at 17 early in the second half.
Then the guy who never fumbles did it again. Matt Forte dropped another one, for his first two fumble game since Week 1 of last season. LeSean McCoy decided to keep up his second half heroics and scampered in for a 33 yard score to give the Eagles their first lead of the game.
The tide turned when Forte dropped his first one in the second quarter, and the momentum shift continued into the second half when the Eagles came out guns-a-blazing.
Jay Cutler did his best on the next drive, despite starting from deep inside his own zone, to bring the Bears back down the field. Despite Roy Williams dropping a perfectly thrown sixty yard bomb, Cutler tossed a pair of crisp passes down the field to put the Bears into field goal range.
When Cutler wants to be elite, he can be. But when he panics and throws off his back foot, he is terrible. One cannot imagine how painful it is to be a Bears fan. When he see’s pressure coming, he usually quivers in fear and takes the hit. But when given the protection, he can plant his front foot and sling it down the field as well as anyone in the world.
Or he can throw a perfect toss to the back corner for Earl Bennett when Asante Samuel decides to leave him alone in the red zone. Those are the type of plays that give the Bears the lead in the fourth quarter.
Leave it to Andy Reid to make a ridiculous call late in a game that involves a punter trying to throw for a first down. With less than ten minutes to play, and the Eagles set to punt and pin Cutler deep in his own end once again, Reid went for the fake, but punter Chas Henry threw his pass short and turned the ball over to the Bears with good field position.
Cutler got the ball in his hands, Matt Forte got his legs going, and Roy Williams remembered how to catch the ball. But when they got down to the and goal region, they could manage just three points to give them a six point lead with less than four minutes to play.
Mike Vick time.
Run for one first down. Get split in half on the next play. Zip one down the field for a first down on the next. Forte runs for no gain. Vick almost throws a pick on the sideline.
Third down. Pressure on Vick. Pump. Throw into double coverage. Incomplete.
Fourth down. Vick hits Maclin crossing the field. Wide open. Then the sniper hits him and he tumbles to the ground a few yards short of the first down.
Game. Set. Match.
30-24 Chicago. Bears win third straight and move to 5-3 while the Eagles fall to 3-5 after some actually took them seriously for a week.
