For so long it has been the Green Bay Packers producing tight ends, Bubba Franks and Mark Chmura extending a line that dates to Ron Kramer. The Bears could answer pretty much with Mike Ditka, and that was a long time ago.
But Sunday, with the season on the line, it was the Bears’ tight ends who turned in the decisive plays in a game when the Bears most needed them.
“We knew the tight ends would have to create some separation and mismatches and give the quarterbacks a place to throw,” rookie Greg Olsen said.
Olsen scored his first NFL touchdown on an acrobatic 19-yard catch of a Brian Griese pass late in the third quarter, and Desmond Clark provided the winning points of the game on a 34-yard completion from Griese with two minutes left.
“It was a play-action play [to Cedric Benson], and two linebackers and the safety bit on the flat route,” Clark said. “It left me wide open running down the field, and Griese went through his progressions and found me.”
Griese’s fake left Clark alone in the Green Bay secondary.
“Those catches are easy,” he said. “It wasn’t something we thought would be open all night, but they came with a different look than we were expecting, and it worked out for us.”
Olsen led the Bears with four catches. Clark had three, and the two combined for 119 receiving yards.
