The Chicago Bears did two remarkable things last night. They played football in frigid conditions, with a temperature of 2 degrees and a wind chill of -10degrees. It was cold, it was freezing, it was unbelievably frigid, but the fans came and screamed and the Bears played and won in OT. Two, The Bears did this with a minimal offense. There was no offense of the first half. The Bears had two first downs, and gained 48 yards. Green Bay was marching up and down the field and the defense seemed like Rocky holding on for dear life.
But Rocky had guts and determination, and when the Offense woke up and put enough points on the board to tie the game at 17-17. Green Bay lined up for the game winning field goal. Except it was blocked by the outstretched arm of Alex Brown. The freezing fans screamed, the players on Green Bay looked dejected, and this game was going to OT.
Then another amazing thing happened, the Bears won the coin toss after the coin hit the helmet of Brian Urlacher. Apparently there are no rules for the coin hitting something during flight. It bounced Chicago's way. The Bears got the ball, and were stopped by Green Bay. And, the Bears defense, which played very well in the late moments, stopped Green Bay. Then Chicago got another break. Greg Olsen caught a pass and was horse-collared tackled and that gave Chicago an additional 15 yards for the personal foul. Then Orton found Forte free on the left side for 14 yards, and the Bears moved closer. Robbie Gould kicked a 38 yarder through the uprights and won a game that they had no business winning. Green Bay converted 50% of 3rd down attempts. The Bears were 2 for 11. Orten threw for just 146 yards and Forte gained 50 yards in the closing minutes of the second half and in OT for a total of 76 yards.
The Defense was on the field for what seemed like the entire game and yet they won it. The Bears win on defense, and offense is like something you have while the defense is off the field. Orton did not look good last night. He's not the future of the Bears. The Bears don't have a wide receiver and gave away Bernard Berrian because they did not want to give him a lot of money. Guess what, good NFL receivers cost a lot of money. So, they converted Devin Hester, a brilliant punt and kick returner into a wide receiver and he is the best receiver the Bears have, except for Greg Olsen.
Chicago is 9-6. This game was their low-light and high-light of the season. To win a game you were out of, to win a game against a team that defeated you 37-3, and to overcome the hostile weather, you have to give them a lot of credit.
Whether they can go to Houston and beat the Texans is iffy, everything has to break right for them once more.
