Appearances were deceiving Sunday in Soldier Field.
First of all, the Bears beat the Cleveland Browns 41-31 even though they looked as if they were losing most of the time.
For instance, after taking their third 10-point lead of the game at 34-24, they tried an onside kick.
No, it wasn`t an onside kick.
”It had nothing to do with an onside kick,” said coach Mike Ditka.
”Kevin Butler kicked it improperly.”
Whatever, it allowed Bernie Kosar to keep the Browns close until the end in his best performance as a pro quarterback.
Kosar was supposed to be immobile, but he avoided the Bears all day even though Vince Tobin`s new defense appeared to be as aggressive as Buddy Ryan`s old one.
Meanwhile, Bears` quarterback Jim McMahon appeared badly hurt when he left the field in the fourth quarter after banging his right shoulder on the turf. But the early prognosis was a ”bruise.”
”We`re going to call it a shoulder bruise for the time being,” said Ditka.
X-rays indicated no separation or dislocation, according to trainer Fred Caito.
”We have to wait and see how sore he is Monday and see if the motion is still there,” said Caito, who was convinced that the worst it could be is ”a badly bruised shoulder.”
”I hope I`m ready to play,” said McMahon.
If McMahon can`t go against the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday, Ditka is expected to start Mike Tomczak, who led the club to its final 10 points and the clinching touchdown drive.
This was a game when the offense started out playing defense and the defense started out playing offense and the special teams lit the spark with Dennis Gentry`s 91-yard kickoff return.
Ditka applauded another ”team victory” even though he couldn`t quite figure out exactly how it happened.
”It was kinda funny out there,” he said. ”It was like a game, but it wasn`t a game. The exciting things all happened in the first five minutes.
”We`ve tried to build a team based on everybody on the field. We didn`t play our best football, but I have no bad feelings.”
The offense, defense and special teams all scored points, all gave up points and all underscored Ditka`s point.
Amid the confusion, Walter Payton remained Walter Payton. On his 12th opening day appearance, he was as deceiving as ever, gaining 113 yards in 22 carries and scoring twice.
Ditka said earlier in the week he wanted to give Payton some rest, but the only man on the Bears` 45-man roster who did not play was No. 1 draft choice Neal Anderson, the third-string running back.
Although the Bears threatened a blowout by scoring 21 first-quarter points after digging a 7-0 hole, the game wasn`t decided until Gentry, Payton and Tomczak led a 72-yard drive and Matt Suhey scrambled 6 yards for a touchdown with 2:01 left.
”I don`t know what the heck it is about him (Tomczak), but it seems like if there`s something on the line, he plays better,” said Ditka.
The Bears exposed the National Football League`s potentially controversial new instant replay officiating system to a national television audience on the third play.
From a shotgun formation, center Jay Hilgenberg snapped the ball on two when the count was four. McMahon was looking left and the ball went right.
”I spaced out,” said Hilgenberg.
After McMahon and others couldn`t stop the ball`s 28-yard bounce to the goal line, Browns` safety Al Gross slid out of the end zone with it and the officials called a timeout. They said they called a touchdown, but no one noticed until they conferred with the replay official in the press box.
Fortunately for the league, the replay showed conclusively that it was a touchdown, because the replay official was Nick Skorich, former head coach of the Browns.
After Gentry`s great kickoff return erased the mistake, the defense finally got onto the field and out of the shell where Tobin had kept them during the preseason.
”We blitzed on the first play,” said safety Dave Duerson.
Richard Dent sacked Kosar on the third play and the Browns had minus-16 yards on their first possession. The ensuing punt from the 3 put the Bears at the Cleveland 43 and it was soon 14-7.
Two of the Browns` 10 first-half penalties helped the Bears score. Payton followed Fridge Perry for the final 2 yards.
On the next Cleveland series, Tobin threw what he called ”a conglomerate” formation at Kosar that included vestiges of the old ”46.”
Perry was standing up as an outside linebacker and seven men rushed. Middle linebacker Mike Singletary hit Kosar`s arm as he tried to flip a pass to Kevin Mack in the flat.
Linebacker Wilber Marshall intercepted it and ran 58 yards for the touchdown that made it 21-7.
”We came off after the first quarter with big smiles on our faces,”
said Duerson.
But Kosar didn`t go home and cry. The Bears had a 24-14 halftime lead that Kosar kept whittling.
In five plays to start the second half, the Browns drove 72 yards and Mack broke 14 yards up the middle on a blitz for the touchdown. The big play was a short pass that Earnest Byner turned into a 40-yard gain by breaking tackles.
”We let them back in the game,” said Tobin.
”Exactly what we didn`t want to do,” said Singletary. ”A good defense can`t do that.”
Soon, Kosar had neither Mack nor tight end Ozzie Newsome, his best receiver. Newsome hurt an ankle in the first half and Mack went out with a bad shoulder in the fourth quarter.
But Kosar ended up with 23 completions in 40 attempts. The only sack was by Dent on the only series when the Bears stopped the Browns in three plays.
”We knew he was good throwing off his back foot,” said defensive tackle Steve McMichael. ”He`s real tall and can see over us. He would toss it and there`s not much you can do about that.”
”I thought he wouldn`t get rid of it quite as well when we had heat on him,” said Tobin. ”He`s a maturing quarterback. Last year, he ducked his head and went into a shell and he didn`t do that today.”
Kosar was sharper than McMahon, who went down under a rush after bouncing a pass to Suhey with about 10 minutes left.
”When you see him go down, a lot goes through your mind. Your heart goes through your stomach,” said Tomczak.
Tomczak didn`t skip a beat. He completed a 31-yard pass to Willie Gault on an audible on his second play. It helped set up a 19-yard field goal by Butler that made the score 34-24 with 7:55 left.
Then Butler appeared to onside kick and Travis Tucker recovered for the Browns at the Bears` 49.
”The ball was supposed to be popped and land at the 25-yard line, but he missed the ball,” said Ditka.
Six plays later, Kosar had made it 34-31 on a 15-yard pass to Brian Brennan that caught the Bears` coverage in a blitz and confusion.
Tobin took the blame.
”I sent Todd Bell in and told him wrong,” said Tobin. ”It was a busted coverage.”
When they got the ball back, the Bears began their clinching drive. After two incomplete passes, Gentry broke a 13-yard gain from the shotgun that was as vital as his kickoff return.
”The momentum had shifted to Cleveland. We needed that,” said Tomczak.
Payton then went to work for runs of 10, 2 and 19 yards around the right side. Guard Tom Thayer took out two tacklers on the 19-yarder.
”Gentry and Kenny Margerum blocked the inside linebackers on those plays. That enabled us to turn the corner,” said Ditka.
From the 14, the Browns committed their only penalty of the second half when cornerback Frank Minniefield held Gault, giving the Bears a first down at the 9. Payton ran for 3 and Suhey scampered into the end zone from the 6 on what appeared to be all fours.
”We`re just happy with a victory, fellas,” said Ditka.
