Big stop lifts Bears over Eagles

This time the defense refused to surrender a fourth-quarter lead, and as a result the Bears are 2-2 and tied for first place in an NFC North that could be theirs for the taking.

With the Vikings at 1-3, the Lions 0-3 and the 2-2 Packers possibly having to battle on without quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Bears' prospects are a lot more encouraging than they were before their 24-20 upset Sunday night over the Philadelphia Eagles in front of a raucous, capacity Soldier Field crowd that couldn't celebrate until the final seconds ticked away.

Time and again the defense picked up the slack created by an inconsistent offense, culminating in a goal-line stand for the ages, when the Bears stonewalled the Eagles three times from the 1-yard line in the waning minutes to preserve the victory. Matt Forte's 10-yard run helped the offense take all but 17 seconds off the clock after that.

The highly paid and publicized defense had taken flak for its inability to hold double-digit leads the previous two weeks, but it wrote a different story this night in front of a national TV audience.

"The last couple weeks we haven't been able to finish," coach Lovie Smith said. "I thought we corrected some things."

The defense, playing with backup Corey Graham replacing injured cornerback Charles Tillman for most of the second half, withstood 3 second-half turnovers by the mistake-prone offense to preserve a tenuous 21-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Finally the bumbling offense managed a 41-yard Robbie Gould field goal with 10:28 left for a 24-20 lead.

"After our turnovers, our defense really stepped up," Smith said. "Especially the way they ended the game."

Trailing 24-20, the Eagles had second-and-goal to go at the Bears' 1. Tony Hunt was stopped by Kevin Payne and Mike Brown for no gain. Then Correll Buckhalter went airborne over a mass of humanity to bring the nose of the ball within a foot of the goal line. Buckhalter tried again on fourth down but was hammered by Alex Brown and Lance Briggs.

"They have some big guys up front, and we're not that big, so we expected them to run," Alex Brown said. "But (quarterback) Donovan McNabb could have run a bootleg, all that stuff goes through your mind.

"This very well could be a turning point for us."

After Devin Hester misjudged a punt and lost 8 yards to his own 3-yard line on the return, the Eagles, trailing 21-14, had great field position when the offense failed to make a first down.

But, starting at the Bears' 35, the Eagles also failed to get a first down, and David Akers' 47-yard FG attempt hit the right upright and fell harmlessly into the end zone with 8:01 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles got another gift when Kyle Orton fumbled on first down on a sack by Trent Cole, who beat left tackle John St. Clair to the outside. Omar Gaither recovered for the visitors and returned 6 yards to the Bears' 28.

But again the Bears' defense stiffened and allowed just a 24-yard Akers field goal that left the Eagles trailing 21-17 with 4:22 left in the third.

Then, late in the third quarter, after a botched handoff from Orton to Kevin Jones that was recovered by the Eagles at the Bears' 31, the defense held again, forcing the Eagles to settle for a 33-yard field goal.

After Payne intercepted a McNabb pass that hit him between the 4s on his jersey and returned it 49 yards to the Eagles' 11 early in the third quarter, the Bears, already leading 21-14, blew a chance to take a commanding lead.

On second down from the 8, Orton hit Eagles cornerback Quintin Mikell in stride in the middle of the end zone and the interception to end the threat.

"We played extremely well in the first half, but we weren't very good in the second half," said Orton, who finished 18 of 34 for 199 yards and a passer rating of 75.5 after throwing for 174 yards with a 106.6 passer rating in the first half. "In the third quarter I laid an egg. We didn't execute and I had a bad interception in the end zone."

But in the end the defense came to the rescue.

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