Nov. 03--Before a late-game collapse led the Bears to their fifth loss Sunday, a fourth-quarter touchdown drive positioned John Fox's team to snag another hard-fought victory. Fourteen plays, 74 yards, 8 minutes and 34 seconds off the clock.
That drive ended with Jay Cutler's kamikaze 4-yard touchdown run, a score that put the Bears ahead 20-13 with 4:55 left. But throughout the march, the Bears also showed encouraging balance and poise. They converted two third downs and picked up their biggest gain when Cutler threw a 19-yard dart to Marc Mariani over the middle.
And on a fourth-and-1 play from the Vikings' 33 with 8:03 left, Fox opted to go for it rather than send Robbie Gould out for a 51-yard field-goal attempt.
Cutler hit Alshon Jeffery for a 5-yard completion on the play with the strong-handed receiver winning a one-on-one battle against Xavier Rhodes.
"It was a stop route," Jeffery said. "Just beat your man. And Jay made a great throw."
Fox became dismissive Monday when asked to offer any explanation on his decision-making process to go on fourth down there.
"One thing's for sure: It's a lot easier making those calls after the fact," he said. "I don't think anybody has a monopoly on good play-calling after the fact. ... The length of the fourth down is always critical."
Retreat mode: Fox declined to assess punter Pat O'Donnell's effort at the end of Marcus Sherels' 65-yard return touchdown in the first quarter. The Bears had multiple coverage breakdowns with Josh Bellamy, the gunner on the left side, swallowed up by a double team. Jeremy Langford also failed to get off a block on that side.
At the end of the return, O'Donnell made no effort to slow Sherels or angle him toward the sideline, instead jogging into his own end zone as Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter came to apply a block.
Said Fox: "At the end of the day, you're not designing coverages where your punter is a major factor."
The Bears' special teams have allowed three return touchdowns this season and were gashed for 30 yards on a Lions fake punt in Week 6.
Extra points: The trade deadline is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday. The Bears don't figure to be very active on that front. ... Sunday's loss was the Bears' third NFC North defeat of the season and their fifth consecutive division loss overall. Over the last three seasons, the Bears have a .200 winning percentage (3-12) in NFC North games. In nine seasons under Lovie Smith, the division winning percentage was a far more respectable .574 (31-23). ... Cutler's 21-yard TD pass to Jeffery in the second quarter Sunday was his 137th as a Bear, tying Sid Luckman's franchise record for career TD passes.
dwiederer@tribpub.com
