Bears Need an Overtime to Win Buddy Bowl, 13-10

The Buddy Bowl, the NFL’s answer to “Family Feud,” was finally played Sunday and, anyway you look at it, it was a surprise.

Imagine the world champion Chicago Bears (2-0) having to go to overtime to claim a 13-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles (0-2). Imagine Eagle Coach Buddy Ryan, his crustiness thoroughly documented since he noisily left the Bears last year, halting a press conference in tears. Imagine Bear Coach Mike Ditka taking shots at his former defensive coordinator.

OK, imagine two out of three and you’ve got a surprise, anyway you look at it.

To be sure, the game itself was somewhat anticlimactic, coming as it did after an off-season of buildup, kind of an extended pre-fight weigh-in. The two coaches, each resentful over the credit the other received for the Bears’ Super Bowl success, seemed to have left their best stuff in the newspapers. For most of the five quarters, this was football at its eye-glazing worst.

The only on-field excitement was provided by Bear Walter Payton, who has assumed the offensive burden since quarterback Jim McMahon went out with a shoulder injury. Payton, seemingly unmindful of the rivalry between the two coaches, went about his business, carrying the ball for several milestones and 177 yards, obscuring a game of fumbles (3), interceptions (7) and missed field goals (4).

It was his six carries in overtime, after Vestee Jackson recovered a fumbled kickoff return, that put the Bears on the six-yard line and gave kicker Kevin Butler the chance, presumably his only chance, to vindicate four missed field goals and to, finally, win the game.

But this was the kind of game where football was the backdrop to a bigger drama. Ever since Ryan, who happily gathered credit for the Bears’ 46 defense and thus its overall eminence, left for his own head coaching job, Ditka has publicly seethed, glad to be rid of his attention-mongering assistant. Ryan, meanwhile, has been boasting of an impending dynasty at Philadelphia, a team he found in some shambles. As for his former boss? “Aw, he’s a jerk.”

Newspaper rivalries in the two towns have done their part to intensify the competition, and even though both coaches declared a moratorium on maledictions this week, there was plenty to fill sports sections.

Junior Eagles even took their outspoken coach’s lead. Mike Waters called Mike Singletary, Bear linebacker, a baby and accused the Bears in general of being “pansies.”

Ryan said he appreciated the spirit but would have liked hearing that kind of talk from somebody who was closer than 15,000 yards to Payton’s rushing totals.

And some of the Bears could not forget Ryan’s roughshod coaching tactics. Safety Dave Duerson, who was to achieve hero status in the game, had long felt slighted by his former coach. “I’d love to shut him out,” he said.

This rivalry was not particularly evident on the field. Ditka failed to do anything totally outrageous in his attempt to show Ryan up, although he did put 320-pound defensive tackle William (Refrigerator) Perry in as a blocking back for Payton twice. But then that’s nothing. It was thought Ditka might let the Fridge run back a punt or play free safety.

Nevertheless, Ditka admitted that he had allowed this to become a game between two coaches, not two teams. “I made too much of a personal thing out of it,” he said. “I tried to do too many things, I put too much pressure on myself. That’s wrong, we’re a team. If I had to rely on being a genius to win football games, I’d have a lot of problems.”

On the other hand, Ditka did little to soft-peddle what looks to be one of the NFL’s great personal rivalries. Did he look to Ryan after the game to give him a handshake? “No, I didn’t want one.” Did he like the Eagles’ version of the 46 defense? “For a defense that’s supposed to be tough on the run, we sure shoved it down their throats.”

Old loyalties sure die hard.

Duerson, who set up the Bears’ only touchdown when he intercepted the Eagles’ Ron Jaworski in the third quarter, also took satisfaction in the day’s events. “I looked to the sideline after I intercepted the ball, but I couldn’t find him,” Duerson said. He allowed that the Bears always respected Ryan, but “that’s not to say we didn’t have our differences. With some, like Samurai (Singletary), it was father and son. But I never got so much as a congratulation from him.”

Singletary, seemed to regret everything about this game but the victory. He’s still Buddy’s buddy. “Friendships are different for different people,” he said. “To me, friendship is a long time. You don’t forget people when they go somewhere else. That’s life.

“It’s not a war, you know. It’s just a game. And I’m glad it’s over and we can get back to the real thing.”

Ryan is glad it’s over, too. Not once after the game would he admit to any special emotion. The big gruff man couldn’t allow anything at all special about the game. Of course, he couldn’t stand before the cameras long either. He answered one question and then lost it, his chin trembling and his voice wavering. Finally, eyes wet, he retired to the coach’s dressing room and closed the door to compose himself.

Later, ever true to himself, he said: “What emotion?”

If Ryan could have had anything to smile about, it’s that his Eaglets, a team of 17 new players and 11 new starters, are coming together and can hang with a tough team like his old Bears. You might have wondered after the Washington Redskins beat them, 41-14, in the opener. But Sunday, the Eagles seemed surprisingly assured, although Butler’s four missed field goals made them look more assured than they probably were.

The Eagles had little on offense, though, as rookie running back Keith Byars was shockingly average. He gained just 32 yards in his 19 carries. And for Jaworski, who was sent out of the game twice with injuries, it wasn’t a great afternoon, either. He passed for just 165 yards and was intercepted twice.

If the football wasn’t always great, it was at least exciting in the end, when the two teams traded interceptions and fumbles to take the game into overtime. Jaworski threw an interception. A play later, Payton threw one. Then Jaworski’s replacement, Matt Cavanaugh, threw an interception that was fumbled and recovered by the Eagles. Then Cavanaugh threw another one and then Butler missed a field goal.

You can imagine the dread that attended the overtime because it was quite apparent that neither team could win this game. But the Bears did, Jackson recoving a fumble on Charles Crawford’s kickoff return. Finally, Ditka did the smart thing and instructed quarterback Mike Tomczak, standing in for the injured McMahon, to give the ball to Payton, over and over again. That seemed to work.

If none of this was particularly inspiring to the 65,130 in the stands, it was at least inspiring to Payton, who crossed the 15,000 mark in yards rushing. “That means nothing to me,” he said of his new benchmark. “My goal is now 18,000. Next week, it might be 20,000.”

Next week, maybe people will be paying attention.

NFL ALL-TIME TOUCHDOWN LEADERS

No. Player TD Rush Pass Rec. Return 1 JIM BROWN 126 106 20 0 2 JOHN RIGGINS 116 104 12 0 3 LENNY MOORE 113 63 48 2 4 WALTER PAYTON 112 100 12 0 5 DON HUTSON 105 3 99 3 6 FRANCO HARRIS 100 91 9 0 7 JIM TAYLOR 93 83 10 0 8 BOBBY MITCHELL 91 18 65 8 9T LEROY KELLY 90 74 13 3 9T CHARLEY TAYLOR 90 11 79 0