The Bears use field position the way the San Francisco 49ers use the forward pass. Coach Mike Ditka relies on Neal Anderson and Brad Muster running and catching and Jim Harbaugh throwing a club-record 146 straight passes without an interception.
The Bears lead the NFL in time of possession as they control the ball and gradually gain favorable field position for their down-to-earth attack. In last week`s 41-13 loss to Minnesota, they gave away field position to the Vikings through turnovers, penalties and poor coverage on a kickoff and a punt.
Here is a rundown on the battle for field position during Sunday`s 23-17 overtime victory over the Detroit Lions:
Advantage Bears: The Bears started two drives in Lions territory, on the 24-and 44-yard lines. One possession resulted in Kevin Butler`s missed field goal and the other in Brad Muster`s 6-yard touchdown run.
Advantage Lions: The Lions started one drive in Bears territory, at the 46, that resulted in Eddie Murray`s field goal. But the Lions started three drives near midfield, at their own 41-, 44- and 49-yard lines. One turned into a 22- yard touchdown pass from Bob Gagliano to Richard Johnson. On the other two, the Bears defense forced them to punt.
Bears in the hole: In drives that started at their own 20 or less, the Bears came out three times from the 20 and once from the 5-yard line. The only time the Bears scored when they started at their 20 was in overtime, going 80 yards in 10 plays with Neal Anderson catching the 50-yard touchdown pass.
Lions in the hole: The Lions started five times at their 20 or less. One drive began at the 15 and two at the 10.
Final verdict: Call it a draw. On the average, the Lions began drives from their own 30-yard line while the Bears started from their 31.
