Thomas Adds to Bear Lore

The A-Train rumbled past Sweetness and the Kansas Comet without even slowing.

Anthony Thomas set a Bear rookie rushing record with 188 yards Sunday and Chicago’s punishing defense got its first shutout in eight years, 24-0, over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bears (4-1) have won four in a row for the first time since 1995, the last time they made the playoffs. They’re off to their best start since 1991, when they finished 11-5.

“A lot of people were doubting us,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “We turned some more heads today.”

No one got more notice than Thomas, who set Michigan’s career rushing records. The second-round pick had not run for more than 58 yards in a game.

Once he got rolling, no one could stop him. He darted through big holes on his 22 carries, topping James Allen’s rookie record of 163 yards in 1998. It was the eighth-best total in Bear history.

Walter Payton’s best rookie game was 134 yards. Gail Sayers managed 118.

“It’s something--a rookie record for the Bears,” Thomas said. “That’s a compliment, that some of those guys didn’t do it. It’s something I’ll think about for the rest of my life.”

The Bengals (3-3) will think about this game for the rest of the season. The Bears dominated every aspect and could have easily won by a wider margin.

The crowd of 63,408 grew angry, got ugly and left early as the Bengals were shut out at home for the first time in three years. Linebacker Takeo Spikes was back after missing a game because of his father’s death, but his emotional pregame introduction didn’t carry over.

The Bears kept it close in the first half by missing a field goal, having another wiped out by a penalty and fumbling at the Bengal two-yard line.

Jim Miller threw his second touchdown pass, a 13-yarder to Marty Booker in the third quarter, and Thomas sprinted around left end for a 23-yard touchdown run that sent fans home with 9:05 remaining.

As the Bears pulled away, the officials stopped the game and called extra security to one end of the field because fans were throwing objects.

The NFL’s stingiest defense was at the top of its game. Corey Dillon, coming off a season-high 140-yard performance against Cleveland, got only 30 yards in 16 carries against a defense that stacked the line of scrimmage to stop him.

“It seemed like they had three extra guys in there,” Dillon said. The Bear defense not only stopped the Bengals, it punished them. Safety Tony Parrish perfectly timed a hit on Darnay Scott on a long pass in the third quarter and knocked him out of the game with bruised ribs.