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Forte, Bears hold off Falcons

Oct 13, 2014 - 2:15 AM Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Forte rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Chicago Bears to a 27-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Jay Cutler completed 26-of-38 passes for 381 yards and a touchdown, while Forte also added 77 yards on 10 catches for the Bears (3-3), who snapped a two-game skid.

Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall totaled 136 and 113 receiving yards, respectively, and Josh Morgan had a receiving touchdown in the win.

"It was a big momentum swing," Cutler said. "We came in knowing that we would have to get some chunks of yards and just couldn't dink and dunk all day. I thought the coaches did a great job installing the game plan."

Matt Ryan threw for 271 yards on 19-of-37 passing with a touchdown and an interception and Antone Smith had a 41-yard receiving score for Atlanta (2-4), which lost its third straight game.

"We put ourselves in some tough situations, especially early on in the first half of the game," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "We were 1-for-5 on third downs (in first half) and we were not able to get anything going offensively. Conversely, on the defensive side of the ball, we had a tough time slowing them down."

Chicago broke the tie with 5:06 remaining in the third. Cutler aired out a 74- yard bomb to Jeffery, who dragged a defender down to the Falcons' 6. On the next play, Forte ran through the middle and into the end zone. The extra point was blocked, however, making it a 19-13 game.

On Chicago's next drive, Cutler hit Martellus Bennett on the left side for a 25-yard catch on 3rd-and-11 to the Falcons' 39. Jeffery's 10-yard catch moved the chains again for the Bears on third down. Forte raced up the middle and powered his way into the end zone and Bennett caught a short pass on the two- point conversion for a 27-13 lead with 10:07 to play.

The Bears' defense stepped up late in the game. Atlanta got the ball back with just over five minutes to play. Willie Young sacked Ryan for a 9-yard loss on third down and Demontre Hurst leaped in front of Julio Jones to pick off Ryan at the Bears' 45 on the next play.

After a quick first down on Atlanta's next drive, Young sacked Ryan ahead of the two-minute warning and Will Sutton batted down Ryan's pass on 4th-and-1 with 1:26 remaining to seal the win

Matt Bryant's 52-yard field goal capped Atlanta's 7-play, 32-yard opening drive.

Paul Worrilow delivered a hard hit on Cutler right after the play was blown dead due to a false start, resulting in a personal foul penalty that moved the Bears to the Falcons' 28. Robbie Gould split the uprights from 25 yards out for a tie game early in the second.

Marshall made a 47-yard catch to place the Bears down at the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Cutler hit a wide-open Morgan, who walked into the end zone for a 10-3 lead with 5:59 to play in the second.

After an Atlanta punt, the Bears took over at their own 7-yard line. Cutler connected with Jeffery on a 26-yard pass to their own 33. On 3rd-and-7, Marshall juggled Cutler's pass that was thrown, but hauled it in for a 15-yard gain. Gould capped the drive with a 28-yard field goal for a 13-3 lead heading into halftime.

Early in the third quarter, Ryan hit Jones in stride for a 29-yard pickup into Chicago territory. After two holding calls backed the Falcons up 20 yards, Levine Toilolo made a 14-yard catch and two plays later, Smith caught a screen pass and raced down the right sideline for a 41-yard touchdown, making it a 13-10 game.

Bryant's 54-yard field goal tied the game with 6:19 to play in the third.

Game Notes

Marshall registered his 14th 100-plus yard game with the Bears, tying him for third place with Mike Ditka on the franchise's all-time list ... Forte passed the 7,000-yard rushing mark ... The Bears have won two straight games against the Falcons and own a 14-12 advantage in the all-time series ... It was the fourth game this season that Forte has totaled 150-plus all-purpose yards ... The Bears outgained the Falcons, 478-287.