Nov. 24--Credit for the Bears' final two touchdowns in Sunday's 21-13 win over the Buccaneers should go to the defense, which created takeaways on consecutive plays in the third quarter. And with the offense regaining possession inside the red zone both times, running back Matt Forte added the exclamation points.
One play after David Bass' strip-sack of Josh McCown led to a Bears fumble recovery, Forte went 13 yards to the end zone to give the Bears a 14-10 lead.
Nineteen seconds later, safety Ryan Mundy picked off a McCown pass and returned it to the Tampa Bay 15.
From there, the Bears handed to Forte four straight times for another touchdown.
The running back's durability and dependability continue to impress teammates.
"Honestly," left tackle Jermon Bushrod said, "I have been in this league a long time and I haven't seen a running back take as many snaps as he does in a game. ... The last team I was on (the Saints), we had three running backs we were constantly rotating. But Matt comes to work, he works hard every day, he does what he has to do on the field and he does more off the field to make sure he's feeling good come Sunday."
Forte contributed 112 yards from scrimmage Sunday, his eighth game this season with at least 100 yards. He had 89 rushing yards on 23 carries and added five catches for 23 yards.
Forte is now in position to set a pair of single-season team records on Thanksgiving in Detroit. He's three catches away from breaking his own record for receptions by a running back in a season (72, set last season). Forte also needs only 10 receiving yards to surpass Walter Payton's franchise record of 607 yards by a running back, set in 1983.
Down and out: Linebacker Lance Briggs suffered a groin injury in the first half and did not return. Rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller was also lost for the game in the first half when he had his knee rolled up on.
"Tweaked it a little bit," Fuller said.
Asked about his status for Thursday's game against the Lions, Fuller said: "A short week is always tough, but I'm just going to get better every day."
Not so special: Robbie Gould's streak without a made field goal reached five games Sunday when he knocked a 54-yard attempt in the second quarter off the left upright. Gould has attempted only two field goals since his last make, which came in the second quarter of a 27-13 defeat of the Falcons on Oct. 12.
Rookie punter Pat O'Donnell also had a shaky outing Sunday, averaging 40.8 yards on his nine punts, including kicks of 20 and 22 yards in the fourth quarter.
Extra points: The Bears were just 4-for-16 in converting third downs. That 25 percent conversion rate matched a season worst. ... Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Christian Jones all committed false starts for the Bears, who now have 18 such penalties this season. The team committed only nine false starts last season.
