Bears fans no doubt were cussing at the television and scratching their heads, wondering how this DeShawn Wynn guy appeared out of nowhere to run circles around their once formidable defense at the start of Sunday’s Bears-Packers game.
This season has indeed turned into a big mystery for the Bears.
One minute they’re giving up 64 first-drive rushing yards to the league’s worst rushing offense. The next they’re looking like the defense touted as the one of the league’s best, forcing five turnovers.
One minute the secondary is getting torched by future Hall of Famer Brett Favre. The next Charles Tillman is forcing two fumbles to stop Packers scoring drives, plays that might have saved the Bears’ season.
One minute Brian Griese is throwing an interception to kill a drive. Then he’s hitting Desmond Clark on a 34-yard play-action touchdown pass to give his team a much-needed 27-20 win over the previously undefeated Packers.
Clark got behind safety Nick Collins and linebacker Brady Poppinga and Griese fooled the defense with a play fake on a great call by offensive coordinator Ron Turner.
Yes, Ron Turner.
Such ups and downs would be cool if the Bears were checking out the latest ride at Great America. But at 2-3, they still need to find some consistency before their situation gets even more desperate.
The talk all week was about playing with a sense of urgency, and the Bears did that. But in order to get their swagger back, they’ll need to resolve some of the issues that continue to plague them.
The offensive line is still having trouble blocking, although it was short-handed Sunday without left tackle John Tait. Cedric Benson is running hard but going nowhere, averaging 2.4 yards on his 27 carries. Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad are supposedly go-to receivers but are nearly nonexistent on the stat sheet. And poor decisions continue to haunt the quarterback.
But you have to give Griese credit for being relatively efficient Sunday night as he completed 15 of 25 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns, including a 19-yarder to rookie tight end Greg Olsen.
On defense, the Bears can cite injuries for throwing them off track. Nathan Vasher is still out, and Danieal Manning had a tough time trying to fill his shoes at cornerback at the start of Sunday’s game. Safety Adam Archuleta, playing with a broken right hand, nearly got decapitated when Wynn barreled over him for a 2-yard touchdown run. And the other safety, Brandon McGowan, was lost in his space before redeeming himself with an end-zone interception of Favre’s last pass of the game.
But even with the defense banged up and sometimes mixed up, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and crew put the clamps on Favre. They must have heard Lovie Smith say they were “bad” at halftime.
The Packers should have been doing the Lambeau Leap all night, but the Bears’ defense looked at itself and said it had to carry the load, again.
Favre directed the Packers to 341 total yards in the first half and a 17-7 halftime lead. He wasn’t nearly as unstoppable in the second half as the Bears brought pressure and eliminated mistakes.
But the defense figured to be better the minute Tillman and Briggs walked out of the locker room for pregame stretching. They missed last week’s game in Detroit, and their status was up in the air all week.
Briggs, with a tackling effort that nearly resembled Urlacher’s dominance in Arizona last season, showed no ill effects from a hamstring injury. Same for Tillman coming off an ankle injury.
At full strength, the Bears have a chance to get back in the playoff picture. Losses to Dallas, San Diego and Detroit didn’t help their cause, but those losses occurred early enough to be overcome. Next week’s return to Soldier Field against the Vikings gives the Bears a chance to make some strides in the division. After a date in Philadelphia on Oct 21, the Bears get a chance to avenge a loss when the Lions come to town on Oct. 28.
The Bears aren’t looking that far ahead just yet, but they saw a glimpse of the future Sunday. The second-half effort was the kind of progress Smith wanted to see, particularly from the offense. Griese moved the ball down the field with some surprising deep balls. And Olsen looked as good as advertised, but he can’t be a one-hit wonder.
The same holds true for the Bears as whole. All the talk about being the leading contender to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl died down after the dismal start. But the positive vibe will resurface after Sunday’s effort.
We’ll see next Sunday if the Bears can sustain the momentum.
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vxmcclure@tribune.com
