It’s No Breeze for Bears in the Windy City : Interconference: Lewis’ 98-yard interception return gets Oilers back in game, but they lose, 35-32.

The Chicago Bears were breezing toward an easy victory and were at the three-yard line prepared to take a four-touchdown lead against the Houston Oilers on Sunday.

That’s when Erik Kramer changed a play at the line and threw a pass for the corner of the end zone in the final minute of the first half.

Darryll Lewis cut in front, intercepted it with one hand and then returned it 98 yards for a touchdown with eight seconds left, quickly transforming a potential blowout into a struggle for the Bears, who ended up winning, 35-32.

“Except for one play this game was over at halftime. You can never count things too quickly. We could have put the game away at halftime,” Kramer said.

Instead the Bears, who once led, 25-0, needed a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Kramer to Jeff Graham and the recovery of a late on-side kick.

Lewis’s return put the Oilers back in the game and tested the Bears’ resiliency. Houston trailed, 28-15, at halftime--instead of 35-8--and then scored 10 more points in the third quarter to cut the lead to three.

“It would have been nice to shut them out when we had a chance but we let them back in at the end of the first half,” Kramer said. “That’s part of the game. The guy made a great play on it. I didn’t step into throw as much. As a team we were able to stay focused and came back.”

Said Lewis, who finished with two interceptions: “The pass wasn’t telegraphed. It was just reaction. I got a good break on the ball. It was a play that gave our defense confidence. They were trying to cut our throat. I think that was the spark to let them know that we could come back and win this game.”

But the Oilers, continuing a trend of tough losses, didn’t.

Kramer, who was 24 for 41 for 349 yards, moved the Bears 73 yards for a crucial score, connecting with Graham on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 10:18 left. The drive featured a fourth-down sneak by Kramer and a 17-yard pass to Curtis Conway.

The Oilers (2-5), who’ve lost three in a row by a total of 10 points, responded once more.

Chris Chandler’s six-yard touchdown pass to Haywood Jeffires with 2:23 to go, capping a 83-yard, 11-play drive, cut the lead to 35-32.

But the Bears’ Michael Timpson recovered an on-side kick and Chicago ran out the clock.

Earlier, after John Thierry made his third fumble recovery of the first half with 51 seconds to go, the Bears appeared ready to put the victory away.

Chicago (5-2) had a second down at the Oiler three when Kramer’s sideline pass for Graham was cut off by Lewis, giving the Oilers a two-touchdown swing.

“He made a hell of a play,” Graham said. “It was a situation where we had a run called and they were so far jammed up that we were unable to make that play happen. Erik checked and Lewis made a perfect read, stuck his hand out there at the right time.”

In the third quarter, Chandler completed passes of 34 yards to Malcom Seabron and 42 yards to Travis Hannah, setting up Frank Wycheck’s one-yard scoring run to make it 28-22.

Chandler finished 24 for 38 for 296 yards.

Kevin Butler, one of two Bears remaining from the 1985 team that won the Super Bowl, kicked four first-half field goals on a reunion Sunday of the championship team.