Monday, October 15, 2001
Bears bring 3-game win streak here
Win over Cards means longest run since '95
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears' defense has become downright offensive. That's why they have a three-game winning streak, going into next Sunday's game at Cincinnati, for the first time since 1995.
“We're so much better than we were two years ago. Just the movement on the field,” Chicago coach Dick Jauron said Sunday after the Bears beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-13.
“I think it's too early to tell how good we're going to be. But I love the way we've started out.”
R.W. McQuarters returned a third-quarter fumble 69 yards for a touchdown Sunday, the second straight week the Chicago defense has scored a touchdown.
“Mike Brown made a good tackle. I was running to the ball and I got a good bounce. I didn't even have to break stride and I was running,” McQuarters said.
The only Cardinals player with a chance of catching him was quarterback Jake Plummer, and that no contest.
“I took a peek over and I saw him take about seven hard steps, and then I saw him shut it down,” McQuarters added. “He wasn't going to catch me.”
Brown knocked the ball loose from Michael Pittman, who suffered a concussion on the first scrimmage play and had trouble remembering parts of the game.
McQuarters picked it up on a nice hop and ran untouched for the score that put the Bears up 20-6 with 7:33 left in the third quarter.
Last week, Brian Urlacher went 90 yards with a fumble recovery for a touchdown against Atlanta.
Chicago (3-1) held the Cards (1-3) without a touchdown until Plummer hit Frank Sanders on a 7-yard pass with 2:52 left, completing a 13-play, 99-yard drive.
The Cardinals botched the ensuing kickoff as rookie Bill Gramatica booted the ball out of bounds, giving the Bears the ball at the 40.
But Arizona held and got the ball back with 1:02 left, 63 yards away and no timeouts. Plummer, who engineered an upset of Philadelphia a week ago with a final-minute drive, threw incomplete, was sacked by Bryan Robinson and completed a 9-yard pass.
And when Arizona was called for a false-start penalty on fourth down, officials declared the 10-second rule and the clock ran out.
“Any opportunity we got, we seemed to blunder it and not take advantage,” Plummer said. “We'd get turnovers and then we would have penalties right after them.”
Arizona ....... 0 6 0 7—13
Chicago ....... 3 10 7 0—20
First Quarter
Chi—FG Edinger 46, 2:42.
Second Quarter
Ari—FG Gramatica 40, 13:23.
Chi—Allen 1 run (Edinger kick), 7:49.
Ari—FG Gramatica 47, 3:18.
Chi—FG Edinger 43, :00.
Third Quarter
Chi—McQuarters 69 fumble return (Edinger kick), 7:33. Fourth Quarter
Ari—Sanders 7 pass from Plummer (Gramatica kick), 2:56.
A—66,944.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Arizona, Pittman 16-50, Jones 6-14, Boston 1-11, Plummer 2-7. Chicago, Allen 18-75, Thomas 11-58, Miller 2-3, Milburn 1-1.
PASSING—Arizona, Plummer 20-37-0-216. Chicago, Miller, 15-21-2-116.
RECEIVING—Arizona, Boston 6-85, Pittman 5-25, Sanders 3-47, Jones 2-17, Makovicka 2-10, Jenkins 1-22, Hardy 1-10. Chicago, Booker 5-48, Davis 3-26, Allen 2-11, Terrell 2-7, M.Robinson 2-6, White 1-18.
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Bears bring 3-game win streak here