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| ARI at WAS | ATL at NO | BAL at BUF | CHI at PHI | IND at JAX | KC at OAK | MIN at DAL | NE at MIA |
| NYJ at CIN | PIT at DEN | SF at NYG | STL at SEA | TB at DET | TEN at HOU | ||
Week 7 Game Recap: Chicago Bears 19, Philadelphia Eagles 16
What you need to know
| Chicago Bears |
Brian Griese was able to get the Bears in position to kick five field goals, four of which were successful, before leading Chicago on a 97 yard game winning TD drive. Griese connected with WR Muhsin Muhammad on a 15 yard score with seconds left to win the game. Until that point, Griese repeatedly led efficient drives that they just could not get into the end zone, but he came through when they needed it the most.
Cedric Benson was unspectacular rushing the ball, totaling 46 yards on 17 attempts with his longest carry just nine yards.
Muhsin Muhammad led the Bears with five receptions for 79 yards and came through with the club's biggest play of the game, hauling in a game winning touchdown pass from 15 yards out that proved to be the difference in the game.
| Philadelphia Eagles |
Donovan McNabb was able to get the Eagles in position to kick three field goals through the first three quarters before breaking the touchdown drought in the fourth quarter, connecting with TE Matt Schobel to give Philadelphia the lead. Their inability to get in the end zone and settle for field goals came back to haunt the Eagles, who lost the game on a touchdown pass with seconds left that capped off a 97 yard drive.
RB Brian Westbrook led Philadelphia with 79 yards, but had a long run of just 12 yards and could not find room to make any big plays we're accustomed to seeing from the talented back.
Kevin Curtis led the way receiving, catching five passes for 62 yards and TE Matt Schobel caught a 13 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but the Philadelphia receivers had a few key drops that ended promising drives and forced them to settle for field goals early in the game, which ended up coming back to cost them in the end.
What you ought to know
| QB Brian Griese, Pass: 27 - 41 - 322 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 |
Griese was having another solid game for the Bears, but up until late in the fourth quarter could only manage to lead the club to four scoring drives that ended in field goals. With his club trailing 16-12, Griese led a 97 yard drive with less than two minutes left and zero timeouts that he capped off with a game winning 15 yard score to WR Muhsin Muhammad. On the drive, he showed his experience and command in the huddle while making big play after big play to set up the winning score. For the game, Griese finished 27 of 41 for 322 yards and a touchdown.
| RB Cedric Benson, Rush: 17 - 46 - 0, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets) |
Benson had another mediocre outing, rushing the ball 17 times for 46 yards (2.7 ypc average) with a long run of just nine yards for the game. Early on, Benson seemed to have a little spring in his step, but seemed to get more tentative hitting the hole as the game went on. He was targeted once in the passing game, catching one pass for 19 yards.
| RB Adrian Peterson, Rush: 4 - 21 - 0, Rec: 3 - 33 - 0 (5 targets) |
Peterson spelled Benson in the running game, carrying the ball four times for 21 yards and catching three passes for 33 yards on five targets.
| WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 5 - 79 - 1 (7 targets) |
Muhammad was targeted seven times, catching five passes for 79 yards and coming through with the club's biggest play of the game, catching a 15 yard touchdown with seconds left to win the game.
| WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 4 - 65 - 0 (7 targets) |
Berrian finished with four receptions for 65 yards on seven targets. He was able to break through for a 25 yard pass play, but could not find much open space downfield versus the Eagles secondary.
| WR Devin Hester, Rec: 3 - 41 - 0 (4 targets) |
Hester was used frequently in offensive packages, getting four targets and finishing with three receptions for 41 yards. Chicago targeted him on deep routes and also shorter patterns that allow him to use his playmaking skills to make a play. Three of his receptions resulted in Chicago first downs, including a big 21 yard gain that helped set up the winning score. His inexperience at the WR position showed on a few plays, where Hester did not know where to lineup.
| TE Desmond Clark, Rec: 5 - 32 - 0 (5 targets) |
Clark caught all five passes thrown his way for 32 yards. Two of his receptions resulted in Chicago first downs.
| TE Greg Olsen, Rec: 4 - 48 - 0 (8 targets) |
Olsen was the most targeted Chicago receiver in the game, finishing with eight, including a few in the red zone. He brought down four of those passes for 48 yards.
| PK Robbie Gould 4 - 5 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 13 points |
Gould missed a 39 yard field goal attempt, but came through on four successful field goals from distances of 31, 22, 41 and 45 yards out. He also added an extra point to finish with 13 points.
| CHI Rush Defense |
The Bears were able to keep Philadelphia's biggest weapon, RB Brian Westbrook, under wraps with just 79 yards on the ground and a long run of just 12 yards for the game. That success helped Chicago keep the game close enough to have a chance to win in the end. They did give up 123 yards on 25 attempts, but their ability to limit the big plays by the Philadelphia rushers was a big key in the game.
LB Brian Urlacher led the way with eight solo tackles and four assists.
| CHI Pass Defense |
Chicago held the Eagles to 211 net passing yards, registered three sacks and limited the amount of big plays Philadelphia could make through the air, all while applying as much pressure as they could on Donovan McNabb. While they did give up a touchdown through the air, their ability to keep the ball in front of them and not allow the Philadelphia receivers to get open downfield were big factors in their win.
DB Adam Archuleta registered five solo tackles, two assists and a sack for the Bears and DL Tommie Harris chipped in with two sacks of his own.
| QB Donovan McNabb, Pass: 21 - 34 - 226 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 18 - 0 |
McNabb finished 21 of 34 for 226 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions, but his numbers were hurt by some dropped passes by his receivers that stalled scoring drives and made Philadelphia settle for field goals. His touchdown pass came in crunch time during the fourth quarter, as McNabb was able to hook up with TE Matt Schobel from 13 yards out to help his club regain the lead. All things considered, McNabb looked pretty sharp, but still looked a little tentative as far as his scrambling ability goes. He had just two rushes for 18 yards in the ball game.
| RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 18 - 79 - 0, Rec: 6 - 40 - 0 (8 targets) |
Westbrook shouldered the load in the Philadelphia running game, carrying the ball 18 times for 79 yards and could not find many holes in the Chicago front seven with a long run of just 12 yards. As usual, Westbrook contributed in the passing game with six receptions for 40 yards on eight targets.
| RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 3 - 13 - 0, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets) |
Buckhalter ran the ball three times for 13 yards and caught the only pass thrown to him for an 11 yard gain.
| WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 5 - 62 - 0 (8 targets) |
Curtis was targeted eight times in the game, catching five passes for 62 yards.
| WR Reggie Brown, Rush: 1 - 12 - 0, Rec: 3 - 44 - 0 (6 targets) |
Brown was thrown to six times, catching three passes for 44 yards in the passing game and adding one rush for 12 yards for the Philadelphia rushing attack.
| WR Hank Baskett, Rec: 2 - 33 - 0 (3 targets) |
Baskett was targeted three times in the game, catching two balls for 33 yards.
| TE Matt Schobel, Rec: 1 - 13 - 1 (4 targets) |
Schobel filled in for the injured L.J. Smith and caught just one pass on four targets. The reception was a big one though, as Schobel hauled in Philadelphia's only touchdown of the game on a 13 yard catch for a score.
| PK David Akers 3 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points |
Akers connected on field goal attempts from 24, 33 and 37 yards out and added an extra point to finish with ten points in the game.
| PHI Rush Defense |
The Eagles shut down the Chicago rushing attack, holding them to just 72 yards on 23 attempts (3.1 ypc average) and allowing a long of just nine yards on the ground. They swarmed to the ball and did not allow either of the Chicago backs to find any holes in their defense for big gains downfield. For the game, the Bears had just two rushing first downs and zero rushing scores.
LB Omar Gaither had five solo tackles and two assists to lead the Philadelphia front seven.
| PHI Pass Defense |
The Eagles played well enough against the pass to force Chicago to kick four field goals, but could not stop the Bears with under two minutes left to hold on to their lead. They allowed Chicago to drive 97 yards with zero timeouts on a drive that ended with a Griese to Muhammad touchdown with seconds left to win the game. Also disappointing for the Eagles was totaling just one sack and not forcing any turnovers in the game.
DB Lito Sheppard had seven solo tackles and DL Trent Cole registered the only sack in the game for the Eagles.
