• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Goal-line stand helps Bears edge Westbrook-less Eagles

Sep 29, 2008 - 6:06 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Lance Briggs and the Chicago Bears bounced back from a tough loss in typical fashion - by flexing their defensive muscle.

Briggs and the Bears stuffed four straight runs from the 1-yard line en route to turning away the shorthanded Philadelphia Eagles, 24-20, on Sunday.

Kyle Orton threw a career-best three touchdowns in the first half for Chicago, which rebounded from last Sunday's 27-24 overtime loss to Tampa Bay. Devin Hester, Marty Booker and Greg Olsen each had a TD catch for the Bears (2-2), who were able to overcome four turnovers thanks to their trademark - stifling defense.

Chicago native Donovan McNabb completed 25-of-41 passes for 262 yards with a touchdown and an interception but could not lead the Eagles (2-2) in for the go-ahead score.

"It was one of the best fourth-down finishes I've ever been a part of," said Briggs, the Bears' Pro Bowl linebacker. "Finishing is the key."

Minus All-Pro running back Brian Westbrook due to an ankle injury, Philadelphia turned to Correll Buckhalter, who filled in nicely, running for 66 yards on 16 carries with one TD. However, he was stuffed at the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal to effectively seal the win for the Bears.

Chicago's offense was sluggish in the second half, but Robbie Gould's 41-yard field goal gave the Bears a 24-20 lead with 10:28 remaining.

"Obviously, we didn't play well in the second half and, for the defense to bail us out, was great," said Orton, who was 18-of-34 for 199 yards with two interceptions.

Following Gould's field goal, McNabb led Philadelphia on an 11-play, 75-yard drive and seemed poised to stun his hometown team. But the march stalled at the 1-yard line.

On third-and-goal, Buckhalter went airborne but was upended well short of the goal line.

After a timeout, Buckhalter was stuffed on fourth down by Alex Brown and the rest of the Bears' swarming defense with 3:32 left. Chicago took over and sealed the win when rookie Matt Forte ran for 10 yards on 3rd-and-4, forcing Philadelphia to use its final timeout.

"When you get in that red area, you have to take full advantage and punch it in. We just didn't do that today," said McNabb, who played despite a chest contusion he suffered in last Sunday's win over Pittsburgh.

Eagles head coach Andy Reid took the blame for the loss.

"I have to make sure I get the right plays called, so we can punch that in," he said.

The Eagles could have tried a quarterback sneak, but Reid thought twice given McNabb's injury.

"My quarterback is a little sore," Reid said. "So, I am not gonna put him in that position this week."

Brown was thinking McNabb might try and sneak it in.

"To have all those options out there ... Donovan could easily have kept it," Brown said. "You gotta figure, six inches, they got some big guys, they'll run the ball."

It was a thrilling finish to a rather sluggish second half.

Facing a defense that sacked Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger eight times last week, the Bears came out aggressive.

Chicago went with a no-huddle attack on their first drive to try and offset some of the Eagles' blitzes, and it worked. Orton, who completed 19-of-34 passes for 199 yards with two interceptions, hit Olsen for a 19-yard TD just 1:55 into the game.

"We came out and ran some no-huddle at them trying to get them out of their looks," Orton said. "When we did huddle, we were very aggressive. They have a very good defense, a very good secondary. That secondary is probably the best in the league."

"He threw a great ball and he put it in a perfect spot," Olsen said. "It was either going to be an incomplete or a touchdown and I was lucky to get it and keep my feet in-bounds."

"That was big," Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "To be able to get something positive right off the bat off that defense was unbelievable."

But Philadelphia wasted little time responding as McNabb capped an eight-play, 74-yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown to rookie DeSean Jackson that just eluded the grasp of linebacker Brian Urlacher.

Chicago caught the first break of the game when Jackson muffed a punt and the Bears recovered at the Philadelphia's 24. Two plays later, Orton hit Booker for a 23-yard TD and a 14-7 lead.

"I was looking at the punt team coming down and trying to look at the ball at the same time," Jackson said. "I was indecisive about making a fair catch or not and just fumbled."

The Eagles promptly answered when Buckhalter's 1-yard TD run with 11:44 left in the second capped a five-play, 67-yard drive. Orton then finished off his fabulous first half by hitting a streaking Hester with a perfect lob for a 20-yard strike with 1:21 left in the half, giving the Bears a 21-14 lead.

"As a team, we did what we could to put ourselves in a great position to win, but I tip my hat to the Bears," Jackson said. "They played a great game."