The Bears went 1-D in the second half, and a 4-man front that, interestingly, was mostly defensive ends playing tackle and end, did a good job of keeping pressure on Cutler. The pass-happy Bears went no huddle, and played 4-down football. Cutler stayed mistake prone, and Leon Hall bolstered his Pro Bowl resume in the second half. So did Chad Ochocinco and Cedric Benson.
Chad Ochocinco caught his second touchdown of the game, and Cedric Benson went over 150 yards in the 3rd quarter, and for once the Bengals didn't take their foot off of the Bears' throat. Call it running up the score if you must, but I think it was necessary for the Bengals to show they could play a complete game. The defense took the ball away, Carson dissected the Bears' zones all day, Cedric and the offensive line found and made holes, and elation sans heart attacks took Cincinnati by storm.
My game ball obviously (maybe not so obviously, lots of guys played great) goes to Mr. Benson. 189 yards is a great many. Ocho and Carson are close behind, with 2- and 5-TD (and 146+ passer rating) days respectively.The defense was kind of good too, what with the 4 take aways and 10 points allowed.
Here's to 5-2 at the Bye week! Let's get healthy and get ready for Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Some key team stats:
Total Offense: CHI - 278; CIN - 448
Rushing Offense (YDS/AVG) : CHI - 34/2.9; CIN - 215/4.8
Passing Offense (YDS/TD/INT): CHI - 244/1/3; CIN - 233/5/0
TOP: CHI - 23:38; CIN - 36:22