Bears’ Luck Runs Out

After consecutive overtime thrillers, the Chicago Bears met with an utterly predictable ending Sunday against Green Bay.

Brett Favre beat them. Again.

The Packer quarterback threw two touchdown passes--and, who knows, might still be scrambling--leading his team to a 20-12 victory. He improved to 9-1 as a starter against the Bears in games at Soldier Field, and did so with typical abandon.

“I don’t worry about getting hurt, and I don’t worry about getting hit,” he said with a shrug. “I guess I just play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”

Like Favre, the rest of the Packers are starting to feel Chicago is their kind of town.

“It’s like our home field too,” Packer linebacker K.D. Williams said. “It’s in Chicago, but we feel dominant here because our fans come down the street just to see us play. We’ve got just as many supporters as they have. It felt really good being out there, whether it was their crowd booing us or our crowd cheering for us. It was all motivation.”

Not that either team needed extra incentive. They are battling for the lead in the NFC Central, and both are 6-2.

The Bears had their chances. Trailing by eight, they drove to the Green Bay 15 before giving the ball back on downs with 35 seconds to play. Jim Miller’s fourth-down pass for James Allen fell incomplete, allowing the Packers to run out the clock.

The Bears were hoping they had a little magic left after consecutive overtime victories against San Francisco and Cleveland. Those endings were nearly identical--safety Mike Brown snatching deflections out of the air and bolting into the end zone--marking the first time in NFL history a team has won consecutive overtime games with touchdowns.

This time, there were no miracles on Lakeshore Drive. The Bears even had a bit of bad luck. Allen was looking directly into the sun and was unable to locate the pass from Miller, which was thrown slightly behind him anyway.

“If I could have seen it, I could have caught that ball,” he said. “I was just going on my [instincts]. I felt it hit, and I tried to grab it. I don’t know if it bounced up, down, or whatever. It happens.”

The play ended an impressive drive that began at the Chicago 20, where the Bears took over with 4:19 to play. They converted two third downs--one, thanks to a pass-interference call--and a fourth down.

Luck was on the Bears’ side in the first quarter. Paul Edinger kicked two field goals to give them a 6-0 lead, with the second hitting the crossbar from 47 yards and ricocheting through.

Green Bay answered in the second with a 40-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell and a 41-yard touchdown pass from Favre to Bill Schroeder, who barely got his feet down in the back of the end zone.

The play was typical of Favre. He dropped back, rolled left, waited until the last possible moment, then unleashed a beautiful rainbow that wound up in Schroeder’s hands.

“That’s why in this offense you can never quit with Brett in there,” Schroeder said. “Because you never know what he’s going to do, and that’s why he’s so much fun to play for. He will get you the ball if you’re open.”

Midway through the third quarter, Favre put the Packers up, 17-9, by firing a nine-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman that was laundry-line straight, a bullet only callused hands could tolerate.

Favre got help on the ground from Ahman Green, who rushed for 93 yards in 18 carries against Chicago’s second-ranked run defense, which had given up an average of 77.1 yards a game.

Green Bay’s defense, ranked 11th against the run, limited standout rookie Anthony Thomas to 45 yards in 22 carries--and 22 of those yards came on the first two plays of the game.

“The A-Train came out on the first drive and had some 10-yard plus runs. The fact that he had just 45 yards rushing is a huge credit to our defense,” Packer defensive end Vonnie Holiday said. “It’s difficult to get 11 guys on one accord but right now we’re doing it.”

Chicago, meanwhile, saved its best defense for the postgame locker room.

“I don’t think is the devastating blow that all you people are making it out to be,” safety Tony Parrish said. “We’re 6-2, we’ve played two division games. From what I’m hearing, there’s a whole lot of over-reacting. We’re still in the division lead, right? All right, then where’s the devastation?”

Devastation? No. Frustration? Certainly.

Favre made sure of that.