Bears Beat Lions on Last-Play Field Goal

With Chicago trailing, 13-3, at the start of the fourth quarter Monday night, Bear running back Matt Suhey gave Coach Mike Ditka some advice.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Suhey told the coach.

Ditka knew exactly what Suhey meant.

He ordered the Bears back to what they do best--running the ball--and they rallied to beat Detroit, 16-13, spoiling the first NFL start for Lion quarterback Chuck Long.

Kevin Butler’s 22-yard field goal as time expired capped the Bears’ 13-point, fourth-quarter surge.

“We went ahead and fixed something that wasn’t broke,” said Ditka, who was visibly upset at his offense before it began to click in the final period. “We tried to throw the ball instead of run it, and our game is to run the football.

“We know we can do it as good as most people, against anybody. And we’ve got to learn to just do it.”

Walter Payton, who had rushed only 8 times for 22 yards, was used extensively down the stretch and finished with 83 yards in 19 carries. Suhey, who scored the Bears’ only touchdown, had 42 yards in 11 carries.

“We didn’t play good,” Ditka said. “I’m not going to tell you we played good. But, we do feel pretty good about the way it came out.”

The Bears, who kept alive their chances at having the home field advantage throughout the playoffs, are 13-2. Detroit is 5-10.

“The Bears limited the defense,” Detroit Coach Darryl Rogers said. “They limit you a great deal.

“In the fourth quarter, they took the ball to us. They ran at us and were successful.”

Doug Flutie, who played most of the game after Mike Tomczak was injured in the first quarter, completed 13 of 24 passes for 130 yards for the Bears. Long was 12 of 24 for 167 yards. Each threw one interception.

“It’s rather obvious Chuck Long has a long ways to go,” Rogers said. “It’s also obvious his future is bright. It’s good for us to have something like that to build on.”

Butler, who kicked a 41-yard field goal in the second quarter, kicked a 32-yarder with 12:26 remaining in the game to pull the Bears within 13-6.

On their next possession, Flutie drove the Bears 74 yards in 8 plays, hitting Emery Moorehead for 25 yards along the way, and Suhey dove over from the four with 5:49 remaining to tie the game at 13-13.

After forcing the Lions to punt again, the Bears drove from their 45 to the Detroit 5, setting up Butler’s winning field goal.

The Bears’ defense, No. 1 in the NFL, came to life in the second half, registering three of its five sacks and intercepting Long once.