Drive to stay alive

PHILADELPHIA -- All Brian Griese had to do to pull the Bears' playoff hopes back from the brink of extinction was drive an offense that hadn't been in the end zone all day 97 yards for a touchdown with 1:52 remaining and no timeouts.

And oh, by the way, the audio in his helmet went out just before the drive started, ending his communication with the sideline.

So the 10-year veteran QB was on his own, operating without time for a huddle, which worked out just fine.

Griese got the Bears in the end zone with nine seconds to spare, finding Muhsin Muhammad on a 15-yard TD to give the Bears a 19-16 victory and a 3-4 record that keeps them in contention in a parity heavy NFC. The Eagles fell to 2-4.

"We needed this for our season," Griese said. "We had a lot to lose."

A loss would have meant you could kiss the Bears' postseason plans good-bye.

"We had to win the game," Muhammad said after his biggest game of the season (5 catches, 79 yards). "We were dealt that (cruddy) hand (at the end). We just had to play the cards that were dealt. We went out there, and we're sitting in the huddle and (center) Olin (Kruetz) goes, 'How how sweet would it be to go 97 for the win?' And we started putting it together."

The drive began with almost maddening patience, as Griese threw to tight end Desmond Clark (5 catches, 32 yards) for 11 yards, running back Adrian Peterson for 9 and wide receiver Devin Hester for 9.

After an incompletion and a 7-yard flip to Clark, Griese fired over the middle to Bernard Berrian for 25 yards down to the Eagles' 36-yard line and, after the obligatory spike killed the clock, just 31 seconds remained.

"They were mixing their pressures, their blitzes, with their prevent defense," Griese said. "We caught their prevent defense on that play, (but) we actually (had) called the play for their blitz package, and so we had to adjust a little bit.

"Bernard (4 catches, 65 yards) did a good job of settling in the hole, and I just had to make a play and fire it to him right in the middle of the field and he made a great play on it."

A 21-yard pass to Hester, who had 3 receptions for 41 yards, and another spike set up the game-winner.

"We were able to get down in field position where we could take a couple shots, and Brian gave me the opportunity to catch that ball," Muhammad said. "The defensive back (safety Sean Considine) had his back turned to the ball. (Griese) threw kind of a jump ball out there, and I was able to make a move and adjust to the ball in the air."

Although the start of "The Drive" began slowly, Griese said that was the key to the 103 seconds that saved the season -- at least for now.

"The biggest thing is just getting started," Griese said. "After you get a couple completions, defenses seem to get a little antsy, and linemen rush a few times in a row, so they're not as rested and you have a little more time to push the ball down the field. That's what happened."

Despite the importance of the situation, Clark said there was no panic in the Bears' huddle.

"That probably was a season-saving drive we just put together," he said, "but it was calm because we practice that. There wasn't anyone shaken by the situation."

Griese's passes accounted for all 97 yards, as he completed 7 of 11 passes, including 3 spikes, and utilized five different receivers. He finished 27 of 41 for 322 yards with no interceptions, just 1 sack and a passer rating of 97.8.

Before the offense rescued the game, it appeared Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb would be the hero. Robbie Gould's fourth -- and longest field goal -- a 45-yarder with 10:21 remaining, put the Bears up 12-9 with 9:21 left.

But McNabb drove the Eagles 74 yards, completing 6 of 8 passes for 68 yards, including a 15-yard TD to tight end Matt Schobel for a 16-12 lead with 4:57 left.

The Bears' offense went three-and-out, and it appeared the Eagles would be able to run out the clock after Brian Westbrook's 11-yard run to the Bears' 34-yard line for an apparent first down.

But a holding call on the Eagles' Todd Herremans turned a first down into a third-and-17. It still looked good for the Eagles when punter Sav Rocca booted the ball out of bounds at the 3-yard line.

But the Bears were able to overcome the odds.

"It was pretty much all veteran guys out there in that huddle," Berrian said. "So they've been in situations like this and you know you have to go out there and make plays to overcome them."

But, if the Bears have another letdown this Sunday at home against the Lions, like they did two weeks ago at home against the Vikings after beating Green Bay, "The Drive" won't matter much.

"This win won't mean anything if we don't win next week," Griese said. "We talked all week about if we're in a hole at 2-5, it's not a good situation. But now we're at a point where if we can get to .500 for our bye week (after the Lions game), I would feel very good about that position going forward for the rest of the season."