October 21, 2007
Bears beat Eagles in closing seconds
By Larry Mayer
With their season on the line, the Bears pulled off one of the most fantastic finishes in franchise history.
Trailing 16-12, the Bears took over at their own three yard line with 1:53 to play and no timeouts remaining. With poise and confidence, Brian Griese engineered the game-winning 11 play, 97-yard drive capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad with :09 to play.
The Bears' first and only touchdown of the game gave the defending NFC champions an improbable 19-16 victory.
The final drive seemed to be in trouble, as Chicago was still 69 yards away from the go-ahead score with only :48 remaining, until Griese found Bernard Berrian on third down for a 25-yard gain over the middle to the Eagles 36.
After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Griese then found Devin Hester for 21 more. The Bears killed the clock one more time before Griese hit Muhammad in the back of the endzone. Muhammad went up over Eagles safety Sean Considine, who had his back turned to the ball, to make the catch.
Griese ended the day 27-of-41 for 322 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. He had a passer rating of 97.8.
Muhsin Muhammad's game-winning touchdown came with :09 remaining in the game.
David Akers’ 24-yard field goal gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead with 1:01 left in the first quarter. The kick capped a 16-play, 89-yard drive that burned 9:13 off the clock.
Philadelphia settled for the field goal after rookie cornerback Trumaine McBride broke up a pass intended for receiver Reggie Brown in the end zone on third-and-goal from the Chicago 6.
The Bears had a chance to tie the game, but Robbie Gould’s 39-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left with 9:47 remaining in the second quarter. Greg Olsen provided the key play on the drive with a 20-yard reception on first-and-20 after a holding penalty on tackle John Tait.
Officials initially ruled that Olsen lost a fumble on the play. But the Bears challenged the call and it was reversed after the replay review showed that the ground had caused the fumble.
The Eagles responded with an 11-play, 57-yard drive capped by Akers’ 33-yard field goal, widening the margin to 6-0 with 4:08 left in the half. Philadelphia settled for the field goal after Adewale Ogunleye pressure McNabb into an incompletion on third-and-two from the 14.
Muhsin Muhammad’s 44-yard catch and run on the Bears’ next play from scrimmage set up Gould’s 31-yard field goal, closing the gap to 6-3 with 1:46 to play in the second quarter.
Akers answered with a 37-yard field goal with :22 left in the half, increasing Philadelphia’s lead to 9-3. The kick was set up by McNabb’s 25-yard pass to receiver Hank Baskett.
The Bears opened the second half with a 13-play, 60-yard drive capped by Gould’s 22-yard field goal. The kick came after Griese fumbled the center exchange on third-and-goal from the 1 and recovered the ball at the 4.
Griese sustained the drive with completions of 18 yards to Adrian Peterson on third-and-five and 10 yards to Bernard Berrian on third-and-six.
The Bears had first-and-goal at the 3 after a Philadelphia penalty. But Griese’s fade pass in the left corner of the end zone to Olsen was broken up by cornerback Sheldon Brown and Jason McKie was tackled at the 1 after catching a pass in the left flat.
Gould’s 41-yard field goal on the Bears’ second possession of the second half tied the game 9-9 on the second play of the fourth quarter.
The 10-play, 57-yard drive was highlighted by Griese completions of 24 yards to Berrian and 11 yards to Devin Hester on a third-and-seven wide receiver screen.
Gould’s 45-yard field goal, which caromed off the left upright and through the goal post, gave the Bears a 12-9 lead with 9:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Disaster seemingly struck earlier on the drive when center Olin Kreutz’s snap squirted pass Griese and was scooped up by the Eagles and returned inside the Chicago 20. But the play was whistled dead and ruled a false start against the Bears.
McNabb’s 13-yard TD pass to tight end Matt Schobel then gave the Eagles a 16-12 lead with 4:57 remaining in the game.
LINK
Bears beat Eagles in closing seconds - Chicago Bears
Bears beat Eagles in closing seconds
Bears beat Eagles in closing seconds
Linear Mode
