Bears Take to the Air, Win, 30-27 : Interconference: Kramer and Conway team up for three touchdowns as Chicago holds on to defeat Jacksonville.

Jacksonville came close to winning for the third week in a row Sunday, but the Jaguars couldn’t keep Chicago’s Erik Kramer from throwing to Curtis Conway in the Bears’ 30-27 victory.

Kramer was 17 for 29 for 245 yards, including three touchdown passes to Conway as the Bears won their second consecutive game against an expansion team.

“Obviously, our offense played extremely well,” Chicago Coach Dave Wannstedt said. “Defensively, we didn’t make any plays. We didn’t get enough sacks [only one against a team that had surrendered 29]. We didn’t get enough interceptions. We didn’t cause any fumbles. We missed some tackles.”

Conway had two short touchdown receptions before he silenced a sellout Jacksonville crowd of 72,020 with an electrifying 46-yard catch and run early in the fourth quarter. Kramer passed to Conway over the middle at the Jacksonville 32 and the receiver cut down the left sideline, outran two defensive backs and sprinted to the end zone untouched--right into the arms of a small contingent of Bear fans as Chicago took a 27-17 advantage.

“Well, that’s just one of our normal plays,” said Conway, who became the first Bear receiver in 12 years to catch three touchdown passes in a game. “Fortunately enough, I was able to catch and turn upfield and run past a few guys.”

After trailing 30-20, Jacksonville (2-5) made a late comeback and had a chance to tie the game, but Mike Hollis’ 54-yard field goal attempt missed wide as time expired.

“I don’t know if it was a moral victory, but we sure opened some eyes,” Jacksonville receiver Ernest Givins said. “We’ve surprised a lot of people, and we’ve surprised ourselves, to tell you the truth.”

The Bears seemed relieved to escape Jacksonville with a victory--no matter that their defense surrendered 409 yards to a team that was averaging a league-low 224.

“Pittsburgh couldn’t get it done here last week,” said Wannstedt, referring to the Steelers’ 20-16 loss to the Jaguars. “We can’t lose focus of that.”

Chicago (4-2), which became the first franchise to win 600 games, appeared to seal the victory when Kevin Butler’s 20-yard field goal with 2:18 remaining pushed the margin to 30-20.

The Bears got a break on the drive that led to the field goal when an apparent bad spot gave them a first down at the Jacksonville 23.

But the Jaguars still weren’t done. Mark Brunell, who threw for a career-high 302 yards, tossed his third touchdown, a 23-yarder to Cedric Tillman with 27 seconds left, and Mike Dumas recovered an onside kick at the Jaguar 41.

Operating with no timeouts, Brunell moved Jacksonville to the Chicago 36 with two seconds remaining. But Hollis, who made two field goals, was wide left.

“The hold and snap were good. I just hit it left and it stayed there. I hooked it slightly,” Hollis said. “The field was a little mushy where I kicked from. I just mis-hit it. I’ll get over this, though.”

Brunell, making his second start since he unseated Steve Beuerlein as the No. 1 quarterback, completed 30 of 48 passes to further solidify his hold on the job.

“I think I’m getting better,” he said. “I still have to make better decisions, but it’s coming along. I think the offense as a whole is coming along. The line is getting better each week and they are the key to the whole thing. They’re the reason we’re getting better, without a doubt.”

Chicago’s rookie running back, Rashaan Salaam, followed his first 100-yard game with another strong performance, gaining 76 yards in 20 carries. Jacksonville rookie James Stewart rushed for a career-high 97 yards in 17 carries and also caught a seven-yard touchdown pass.