Bears Wrap Up 13-7 Win in a Sack : Marshall Scores on Fumble Recovery as Hipple Is Blitzed

Eric Hipple likened it to being hit by a car.

Linebacker Wilber Marshall blitzed, sacked Hipple, forced a fumble, recovered it and ran 12 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter Sunday to help the Chicago Bears score a 13-7 victory over the Detroit Lions.

“I never thought something like that would happen,” Marshall said. “Dave Duerson and I were blitzing, and the back picked up Dave. That left me free.

“It was a tough hit, but I kept my eyes open. I saw the ball pop free, and I kept pressing after it,” he said. “I thought I’d get tackled and I did, but not until I got to the one-yard line.”

Hipple sat on the field stunned after the play and needed several moments to recover.

“I got hit by a car when I was a kid,” the Lion quarterback said, “and that’s what it felt like.”

Bear Coach Mike Ditka called Marshall’s play “outstanding.”

“He felt he had to do something extra with Mike (Singletary) out of there,” Ditka said.

Singletary was kept out of the game because of a groin injury suffered in last week’s 23-7 loss at Minnesota.

Detroit Coach Darryl Rogers, whose club slumped to 3-5, admitted Marshall’s play made the difference.

“We dropped some early passes that hurt and then we got blasted on that play and fumbled,” Rogers said. “Without those seven points the game is totally different.”

Quarterback Jim McMahon, sidelined last week, made it 22 straight victories in games he has started for the Bears.

McMahon, who remained in the trainer’s room after the game getting shoulder, elbow, back and ankle injuries attended to, completed 17 of 24 passes for 141 yards, although he was sacked 3 times and had 2 passes intercepted.

“I don’t care about the interceptions,” Ditka said. “He was great, and so was our defense. It was a tough game, but give Detroit credit. I hope all our games are that tough.”

Kevin Butler added field goals of 29 yards at the close of the first half and 27 yards late in the game, as Chicago posted its 14th straight victory at Soldier Field.

The first-place Bears (7-1) own a two-game lead over Minnesota in the NFC Central.

“We’ve got to play better in the second half of the season,” said Chicago’s Walter Payton, who rushed for 67 yards in 21 carries. “We’ve still got a long ways to go.”

Hipple was 12 of 27 for 161 yards and set up the Lions’ only score by Scott Williams on a two-yard run with 7:34 left in the third quarter that whittled the Bears’ lead to 10-7.

“We thought we’d attack them from the air first and then run,” Hipple said. “But we gave up that early touchdown and then things wound up changing.”