NEW ENGLAND HANDS BEARS FIRST DEFEAT 37-30

The New England coach Terry Priest had the perfect game plan. Attack the Bears defense early and often with a great mixture of run and pass. His plan worked to perfection as Bears coach Bill V never could get a real handle on exactly what the Pats were doing. It seemed that every time the Bears would guess run, the Pats would pass and then when it seemed they would pass the Bears were watching for the run.

New England would hold the Bears to a 3 and out to start the game then get the ball at their own 31 after a 47 yard punt by Brad Maynard. The attacking would begin on this drive as Corey Dillon (24-136) would go 5 yards on the first play then over the next 3 plays the always efficient Tom Brady (19-30-275) would pick up 45 yards on 2 completions to overcome a holding penalty on the 2nd play. Sitting now at the Bears 31 the next 3 plays ended up going nowhere and Adam Vinatieri put the Pats on top 3-0 from 47 yards out. The next 2 offensive series for the Bears netted nothing but 3 and outs and finally at the 3:17 mark of the opening quarter the Bears defense came up big as Brian Urlacher stepped in front of Brady's pass that was intended for Daniel Graham at the Bears 40. Urlacher found a small crack and he would take it 26 yards on the return to the Pats 34. Chicago went to the ground and fed Anthony Thomas (28-142) 4 of the next 5 plays netting 31 yards.

Now sitting at the Pats 6 and a 1st and goal Anthony again received the handoff this time breaking a tackle on his way into the end zone and Edinger added the extra point to give the Bears their first lead of the game at 7-3. New England and Chicago then exchanged punts and the Pats would begin its game leading touchdown drive from its own 34. Brady again was instrumental in moving the Pats down the field as he would hit Daniel Graham for 24 yards and two plays later connect with Bethel Johnson to the Bears 6. Over the next two plays Corey Dillon punched it in for a Pats 10-7 lead. Chicago would then put together a nice 11 play drive ending with Edinger's game tying 29 yard field goal. Thomas' 46 yards on 6 carries this drive was the reason for the success. With only 1:47 to go in the half it was the Pats turn to put together a drive starting from its own 24. On first and ten Brady dropped back and handed the ball off to Dillon who would find a huge hole on the right side for a 38 yard gain to the Bears 38. On the next play Brady's scramble added another 11 yards. With :52 seconds to go and facing a 4th and 1 Vinatieri kicked a 35 yard field goal to make it 13-10 New England.

Chicago though even with only 37 seconds left before the half was not in a give up mood and lets go into the locker rooms down by 3. The mentality was lets see if we can strike right back with a answer. It all started with Autry Denson's 30 yard kickoff return setting the Bears up at its own 44. Two plays later Shane Matthews (17-29-193) found Marty Booker (11-140) on the quick screen that he would turn into a 24 yard gain down to the Pats 27. With only 17 seconds left Thomas would ramble another 12 yards on a draw to the Pats 15. This would leave just 8 ticks on the clock and Edinger would tie the game up at 13 with his 32 yard field. A wild finish to the first half.

The second half though was the game difference as the Bears seemed to be on the verge of scoring as the Pats Corey Dillon laid the ball on the ground at the Bears 46 and Phillip Daniels scooped it up returning it all the way to the Pats 13 for a 41 yard fumble return. A delay of game penalty and a 10 yard run later by Thomas had the Bears facing a 4th and 1 from the Pats 4. It was decision time for the Bears and they opted to bypass the field goal attempt to try to pick up the first down. Most expected Thomas to get the carry but the Bears tried to fool everyone by going play action with a quick pass. The only people it fooled were the coaches themselves as Matthews quick toss to Booker resulted in a 5 yard loss and the Bears turning the ball over on downs. A lost scoring opportunity as greed and over confidence by the coaching staff cost the Bears points.

After a series of exchanged punts the Patriots defense gave them the break they needed as Tedy Bruschi intercepted an ill advise throw by Matthews at the Patriots 37. Bruschi tried to find a path but would lose 4 yards on the return. After picking up a 1st down Brady got another big play as the Bears secondary again broke down and allowed David Givens (5-82) to turn a medium pass into a 44 yard gain to the Bears 12. Brady on the next play found Dillon out of the backfield for the go ahead 12 yard touchdown. Now trailing 20-13 Chicago knew the game was getting late and needed to answer. Disaster hit though as Denson return resulted in a fumble at the Bears 32 with New England pouncing on the ball. Vinatieri's 38 yard field goal 6 plays later now made it a 10 point Patriots lead.

As the 4th quarter began the Bears started to air the ball out and Bookers 22 YAC reception put the ball at the Patriots 47. Eventually they would move as close as the 11 before Endinger was called upon to add his 3rd field goal of the game and now cut the lead to 23-16. With over 11 minutes to play the game was still in question. Moving out to the 49 on its next series the Pats were forced to punt the ball away but they would get a reprieve and a first down as Chicago was called for defensive holding prior to the punt. This would come back to haunt the Bears in more ways than one. On the next play Brady hit another long pass and this time it was for a touchdown of 46 yards to David Patten (4-92) as again the Bears secondary seemed to be confused on what the coverage was. Another costly mistake by Shane Matthews on the ensuing offensive position really sealed the deal for New England as Matthews was unable to hang on to the ball after being sacked for 3 yards. New England had the ball at the Bears 22 with just less than 8 minutes left.

Givens and Brady hooked up again 2 plays later this time for 24 yards giving the Patriots a comfortable 37-16 lead over the Bears. Everyone was in shock on the Bears sidelines and searching for answers of the breakdowns in the secondary. This is and should be attributed to TP great play calling and the way he continued to attack this Bears defense. The Bears appeared to be defeated and some wondered if they had any fight left in them as they faced a 4th and 12 form its own 25. If there was ever a time with nothing to lose to attempt a fake punt it was here. The fake was executed perfectly as Daimon Shelton took the hand off and raced 42 yards to the Patriots 33 to keep the Bears drive alive.

Sometimes as they say if you have nothing to lose go for it and this is exactly what the Bears did. Thomas 4 yard touchdown run 5 plays later now made it a 37-23 Pats lead with just over 3 minutes to play. Again nothing to lose the onside kick ensued but New England's good hands people were there to take it. After 3 plays the Pats punted and now only 1:44 seconds remained. Chicago's Matthews went to work making connections of 10, 12, 22, and 23 yards to move the Bears down to the Pats 27 with still 48 seconds on the clock. On the next play Booker ran a button hook and would turn the routine 10 yard pass into a 27 yard touchdown run making it now a 37-30 game. Nervousness crept in on the Patriots sideline as they need to get the onside kick. The kick would get a nice bounce but New England got the ball and without no Time outs remaining for the Bears they simply ran the clock down to preserve the win.

Congrats to TP, he called one heck of a game and I knew eventually this Bears team who has been living on the edge would fall. NE has a well rounded offense and defending it is a taks in itself. --submitted by Bill Vogt--