Bears coach Dave Wannstedt offered some reasons for not letting Jeff Jaeger attempt a 48-yard field goal that could have cut the Bears’ deficit to 14-13 Sunday.
He said he was thinking of last year’s game in the Silverdome, when Kevin Butler’s 53-yard attempt was short.
He said he thought the distance “was in the gray area” of kicks Jaeger could make.
And when the Bears failed to pick up a first down, Detroit immediately turned the favorable field position into a 62-yard touchdown pass from Scott Mitchell to Johnnie Morton.
That turned the momentum against the Bears.
“It was obvious we needed points,” Wannstedt said. “I did consider going for the field goal, but I remembered the miss here last year . . . “
On Wannstedt’s decision not to try the field goal, quarterback Erik Kramer said, “I can’t second-guess the decision. I’m just glad he had faith in us to go for the touchdown.”
Jaeger, in his first Bears game since replacing Carlos Huerta, who failed to adequately replace Butler, had already kicked a 46-yard field goal that cleared the crossbar with about 10 yards to spare. Moments earlier, Jaeger had drilled a 41-yarder that was wiped out by a penalty.
After the field goal was ruled out, Kramer was sacked on the play. An injury played a key role. Guard Todd Burger went out a few plays earlier with banged-up knee. His replacement, Evan Pilgrim, did not make his block.
“On the fourth-down play, they had a dog that we didn’t pick up,” Kramer said. “They outguessed us.”
Then came the bomb to Morton. Cornerback Kevin Miniefield fell trying to cover Morton. “I got tangled up with him,” Miniefield said.
The Bears still managed to score a TD before halftime when Jim Flanigan, normally a defensive tackle, moved to an eligible receiver spot and caught Kramer’s 1-yard pass to trim the halftime score to 21-16.
The final score made Wannstedt’s decision not to try the field goal less important. But at the time, it loomed big, and it did swing game momentum.
Actually, two plays reversed momentum after the Bears reached third and 1 on the Lions’ 27 on a march that might have earned them a 17-14 lead.
First, fill-in tailback Michael Hicks was stopped for a 4-yard loss by Stephen Boyd and Corey Raymond, setting up the field-goal attempt.
“On the pitch to Hicks, they had a blitz on to the outside,” Kramer said.
