Bears Bring Cheer to Windy City

As Erik Kramer ran out for the Chicago Bears’ last series, his arms raised in victory, he heard a very unfamiliar sound.

Applause.

After weeks of boos, the Bears finally gave fans something to cheer Sunday. Kramer threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the fourth quarter as Chicago scored 21 unanswered points to rally for a 31-27 victory over the Detroit Lions.

The Bears overcame five turnovers for their first victory in five games this season, and first since beating the St. Louis Rams on Dec. 14. The Lions are also 1-4.

“It’s been awhile, to have that exalted feeling after a game. Now we’ve got to keep it up,” said Kramer, who beat his former team for the first time in seven tries.

“We’ve overcome a lot to get here,” he said. “We put ourselves in a hole every game and finally we were able to battle our way out of it. There’s a lot of relief, a lot of satisfaction.”

Kramer was 26 for 37 for 275 yards, while Edgar Bennett had his best game as a Bear, rushing for 88 yards in 21 carries and throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to Chris Penn. Penn, starting in place of the injured Curtis Conway, caught six passes for a career-high 106 yards.

Chicago limited Barry Sanders to 28 yards on 14 carries, one of his worst games ever. Lions rookie Charlie Batch was 16 for 31 for 268 yards and two TDs, and Johnnie Morton caught two passes for 138 yards, including a 98-yard play for a touchdown.

“We just took a good old-fashioned whupping in the fourth quarter,” Lion Coach Bobby Ross said. “We had them at 27-10 in the fourth quarter and let them back. We couldn’t stop them.”