| 05 October 2009
Rounding out the end of the first quarter of the 2009 season the Bears took apart their division rival Detroit Lions 48-24 on Sunday. The 48 points represented one of the highest point totals for the Chicago Bears' offense in over a decade. Last year the Bears racked up 48-points against the Vikings, but some of those points came off of defense and special teams touchdowns. Only Johnny Knox's kickoff return accounted for a non-offensive touchdown in this game. The last time the Bears exploded for this many point a 1993 game against the Tampa Buccaneers in which they racked up 47-points. The game didn't start out so smoothly with Calvin Johnson pulling in a 45-yard reception and then the Bears having to deal with a fluke face mask penalty as they fell behind 7-0. From there the Bears' offense scored for the first time this season on an opening drive when Jay Cutler helicoptered into the end zone from three yards out. The rushing touchdown for Cutler is among 10 touchdowns he has had since his four INT performance against the Packers.
That performance seems like a distant memory as Cutler has been nearly flawless since racking up nine passing touchdowns to just one interception that was tipped into the air by Johnny Knox last week.
Knox continues to make his impact for the Bears today returning the opening kickoff of the second half back for 102-yards and a touchdown. Knox seems to have the same vision through the hole that has made Hester and Manning so dangerous and he shares in their top end speed. Knox is one electrifying player and his touchdown completely set the tone for the rest of the game as the Bears' defense buckled down in the second half only allowing a field goal the rest of the way.
The Bears got a lot of pressure from their front four as well getting another 2.5 sacks on the day from Adewale Ogunleye and a sack by Mark Anderson and LB Nick Roach. Even Tommie Harris got in on the act on defense hauling in an interception on the afternoon.
Perhaps the statement of the day is that Matt Forte is fine and has been fine all season. Finally with some running lanes to run through Forte racked up 121 yards on 12 carries and scored a touchdown. Forte's big 61-yard run on the day came in classic Forte fashion as he cut and juked his way through an open lane and into the secondary. He added a 37-yard touchdown for good measure in the fourth quarter as the Bears demoralized a Lions team that added their first win in 20 tries last week.
The Bears head into their bye week a little dinged up with Johnny Knox, Devin Hester and Adrian Peterson nursing some injuries from today. Hester sprained his shoulder while Knox was a little gimpy and never returned late in the game. The Bears are now 4-1 with a chance to be tied for the division lead if the Packers are able to knock off the Vikings tomorrow night.
The key thing for the Bears this bye week will be getting everyone healthy and back ready to play and facing two tough road games, at Atlanta and at Cincinnati two teams who also only down one in the loss column.
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