Bears overcome blunders in comeback win

PHILADELPHIA — The Bears' big guns misfired at some inopportune times Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field, but that wasn't enough to prevent their come-from-behind 30-24 victory over the Eagles.

Matt Forte (133 yards on 24 carries) had his usual assortment of brilliant runs, but he also lost 2 fumbles.

The first was returned for the Eagles' first touchdown. After the second, it took the Eagles just two plays to reach the end zone again for a 24-17 lead in the third quarter. Forte hadn't lost a fumble in more than a year before Monday night.

Devin Hester had disappointing kickoff returns of 18, 5 and 7 yards before leaving with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, and he caught just 1 pass for 12 yards. Johnny Knox managed just 21 yards combined on 2 kickoff returns, and he caught 1 pass for 14 yards.

But Earl Bennett, just back from a seven-week absence because of a chest injury, looked better than ever, catching 5 passes for a game-high 95 yards. He beat Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel to the corner of the end zone for a 5-yard TD grab from Jay Cutler to put the Bears back on top 27-24 with 12:18 remaining.

“He's a steady player who can do a lot for you,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “He makes a lot of plays. He gave us a boost. When you're out for a while you're anxious to get back and show what you can do.”

Bennett's 16-yard reception helped set up that score, and his 28-yard grab helped put the Bears in position for Robbie Gould's 38-yard field goal that brought them within 24-20 late in the third quarter.

The Eagles then botched a pass from punter Chas Henry that fell well short of intended receiver Colt Anderson on fourth down. The Bears took advantage of good field position to add Gould's 22-yard field goal for a 30-24 lead with 3:58 left in the game.

The Bears' defense contained an explosive Eagles attack, especially wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, who were targeted 17 times by Michael Vick but caught a total of 6 passes for 79 yards.

“They make a lot of big plays,” Bears cornerback Charles Tillman said of the NFL's No. 1 offense. “We wanted to make them grind it out, and we did.”

The game was vindication for a Bears team that improved to 5-3, while dropping the Eagles to 3-5.

“Our receivers were tired of hearing about (how good) their receivers were,” Smith said. “We're a good football team that hasn't gotten a lot of respect. We shouldn't be an 8-point underdog when we come and play a team. Our guys took notice of that.”

The Bears seemed to have everything going their way with a 10-0 lead and just more than two minutes left in the first half. But that's when things got interesting.

With 2:04 left in the half, the Eagles got on the board with Alex Henery's 47-yard field goal. Three plays later Forte, who has carried the Bears' offense all season, caught a short flip from Cutler but had the ball stripped by linebacker Brian Rolle, who picked up the loose ball and went 22 yards to tie the game with 1:38 left.

The Bears got the ball back and immediately were forced to punt, but Adam Podlesh boomed a 50-yard bomb to dangerous DeSean Jackson, who on this occasion was dangerous only to the Eagles.

Jackson caught the punt and backtracked 10 yards, where Bears cornerback Corey Graham knocked the ball loose and Sam Hurd recovered.

When Cutler's short, third-down pass to Forte was low, it appeared the Bears would have to settle for a field goal, but Eagles defensive end Jason Babin dropped Cutler long after he released the ball and

was flagged for a personal foul, giving the Bears a new set of downs.

On the first play Marion Barber banged in from the 2 for a 17-10 halftime lead.

It didn't take long for Bennett to demonstrate how valuable he is to the offense.

He was targeted by Cutler on third-and-7 from the Eagles' 31 on the first possession. Bennett caught a short slant in traffic and refused to go down until four Eagles combined to stop his progress after a 14-yard gain.

That kept alive a drive that ended with Cutler's 5-yard TD pass to tight end Matt Spaeth. It was just Spaeth's fourth reception of the season but his second touchdown grab.

Forte, as usual, established himself early as the focal point of the Bears' offense, carrying six times for 52 yards. Bennett showed up big time again midway through the second quarter on a third-and-10 play when he worked open along the sideline, caught Cutler's pass and broke two tackles for a 26-yard gain.

That put the Bears in position for Robbie Gould's 51-yard field goal that extended their lead to 10-0.