Nice debut
For the second straight week, injuries thrust a young Bears cornerback into the middle of the game’s most important pass play. This time, rookie Zackary Bowman made the proper drop in the Cover-2 defense and intercepted Gus Frerotte with 40 seconds left to thwart the Vikings’ potential game-tying drive. The Bears were without starting cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher, as well as nickel back Danieal Manning, but survived. Corey Graham and Trumaine McBride started, and like Bowman in his first NFL game, intercepted passes that made it a day the backup cornerbacks won’t soon forget.
‘O’ – verwhelming
Kyle Orton and Ron Turner have forced fans and future opponents to change the way they view the Bears. They are averaging 28 points per game. The emergence of the offense has changed the Bears from a team reliant on defense and special teams to one that not only can win high-scoring games — but may have to. Marty Booker running free for a 51-yard TD pass? The tight ends combining for nine catches? Where did the playmakers come from? It all starts with Orton, who is developing a knack for making everybody around him better, the way good quarterbacks do.
Special recovery
As much as special teams failed the Bears in the Atlanta loss, they carried the Bears to the Minnesota victory. Credit special teams coordinator Dave Toub for recognizing which side Vikings punter Chris Kluwe favored on directional punts and designing the block that got everything rolling. That and Bowman’s fumble recovery in the end zone gave the Bears 14 points from the kicking game. If the Vikings had put special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro on a train back to Minneapolis, the Bears probably would have paid his fare.
Good but …
The Bears haven’t scored 48 points since 1986. Only once before — 50 years ago — have the Bears been involved in a game with as many as 89 combined points. But giving up the most points in any Bears victory ever put a slight damper on this win, as big as it was. It indeed gave the Bears a 2-0 record in the NFC North and a first-place tie with rival Green Bay at 4-3. But no offense, not even one as good as the Bears has looked, can be counted to carry a team whose defense continues to disappoint.
