For Bears to grab a win, they need turnovers

Something bad happens to the Bears when they stray from home, and it usually involves their ability to hang on to the football.

But in the friendly confines of Soldier Field, where they play host to the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night, they're a different team.

The Bears are 3-1 at home, largely because they have taken the ball away 10 times (5 interceptions and 5 fumble recoveries), while turning it over just twice. That plus-8 turnover differential at home degenerates to a minus-13 on the road, where Jay Cutler has thrown 15 of his 17 interceptions and the Bears have lost all 3 of their fumbles. They have just 5 takeaways in five road games and, not surprisingly, a 1-4 record.

But, even though the 4-5 Bears have the security blanket of home field in the nationally televised NFL clash with the 5-4 Eagles, they'll be facing one of the league's top teams when it comes to turnovers and takeaways. The Eagles are No. 2 in the NFL with 22 takeaways and a plus-10 turnover differential, having given the ball away just 12 times. The Eagles are also second in the league in interceptions with 15, and Cutler is coming off a 5-interception game.

"We realize who's coming in and what their history is," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "But it's about what we do, now. We just have to do a better job of protecting (the ball) this week."

That's especially true in the red zone, where 5 of Cutler's interceptions have occurred.

"We've just got to be careful with it," Cutler said. "If we've got to take 3 points, we've got to take 3 points. There are certain situations where we have to get a touchdown, but when you get down there you want to at least get away with 3."

Overall, the Bears are 26th in turnover differential at minus-5. They've given it away 20 times while taking it 15 times.

The Eagles have gotten 5 interceptions from Asante Samuel and 4 from Sheldon Brown, and both cornerbacks can give some of the credit to the variety of blitzes that come frequently and from different directions.

"That does have a lot to do with it," Smith said of the Eagles' complicated blitz scheme. "But I think it's just good aggressive football - that's what we've done, and that's what I see us getting back to. We're headed in that direction."

Obviously teams have greater success the more turnovers they force, but the numbers for the Bears under Smith are noteworthy.

The Bears have won only two games in Smith's six seasons when they've failed to force a turnover. Since Smith took over in 2004, the Bears are 2-7 (22.2 winning percentage) when failing to get a takeaway and they're 6-20 (23.1 percent) when they get just 1 takeaway. But when they get 2 takeaways, the Bears are 19-8 (70.4), and they're 22-5 (81.5) when they force 3 or more turnovers.

In Smith's first five seasons, the Bears forced 172 turnovers, more than any team in the league. But this year they're tied for 14th with 15 takeaways (9 interceptions, 6 fumbles). Smith's formula for creating turnovers has always worked in the past, and he believes it will in the future.

"You just continue to talk about it and continue to practice it," he said. "Practice stripping the football and things like that, and I think they come in bunches. Sometimes they don't happen for whatever reason, but if you continue to play hard, physical football, the takeaways will come. That's been my history with it, and that's what we will continue to preach. At this stage of our season, we need that to happen, and I believe it will."

NFL's give and take

Here's how the Eagles and Bears compare in turnover differential this season:

Eagles BearsInterceptions 15 9Fumbles 7 6Team total 22 15Takeaway rank 2nd 14th Eagles BearsInterceptions 7 17Fumbles 5 3Team total 12 20Differential +10 -5NFL rank 2nd T26th 462512San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is sacked by Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Darren Howard, left, and Victor Abiamiri.Associated Press 501512Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb may be 0-7 in Sunday night games, but he brings a team to Soldier Field that is No. 2 overall in turnover differential.Associated Press 347512Bears head coach Lovie Smith has a dominating record when his team wins the turnover battle, but 5 interceptions by Jay Cutler against San Francisco were too much to overcome.Associated Press