Bears deny Cardinals
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Even on a very bad night for Rex Grossman, the Chicago Bears found a way to stay unbeaten. They can thank their defense, punt returner Devin Hester and Arizona kicker Neil Rackers for that.
Chicago, down 20-0 at halftime, returned two fumbles for touchdowns in the second half. Then Hester returned a punt 83 yards for a score with 2:58 remaining to take the lead and the Bears (6-0) overcame six turnovers by Grossman to beat the Cardinals 24-23 on a wild Monday night.
Matt Leinart, who threw two first-quarter touchdowns and finished 24 of 42 for 232 yards, coolly directed Arizona downfield at the finish.
But Rackers, a Pro Bowl kicker last season who connected from 41, 28 and 29 yards earlier in the evening, missed a 41-yarder to the left with 53 seconds left for what would have been the game winner for Arizona (1-5).
Anquan Boldin caught 12 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals, who blew a late lead at home for the third time this season. After Grossman threw his fourth interception, the Cardinals were trying to use up time. But linebacker Brian Urlacher stripped the ball from Edgerrin James and Charles Tillman scooped it up for a 40-yard return to cut Arizona’s lead to 23-17 with five minutes left.
Urlacher finished with 11 tackles, seeming to find his way to the ball on nearly every play as the Cardinals were making their final drives.
“First of all they weren’t blocking me, so that was easy,” Urlacher said.
On their next possession, the Cardinals were forced to punt. Hester caught the ball, broke a few arm tackles and sprinted upfield, scoring his second punt return for a touchdown this season and giving Chicago the lead for the first time all night.
In addition to his four picks, Grossman fumbled the ball away twice and struggled to hit receivers when he did manage to get the ball cleanly away, going 14 or 37 for 148 yards.
“He’s a good quarterback,” Urlacher said of Leinart. “He’s young, we tried to throw a lot of stuff at him. He took care of the football, didn’t have any interceptions. But we made the plays when we had to.”
Bears 24, Cardinals 23
| Chicago | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | — | 24 |
| Arizona | 14 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 23 |
Ari—Bry.Johnson 11 pass from Leinart (Rackers kick)
Ari—Boldin 26 pass from Leinart (Rackers kick)
Ari—FG Rackers 41
Ari—FG Rackers 28
Chi—FG Gould 23
Ari—FG Rackers 29
Chi—M.Brown 3 fumble return (Gould kick)
Chi—Tillman 40 fumble return (Gould kick)
Chi—Hester 82 punt return (Gould kick)
A—63,977.
| Chi | Ari | |
| First downs | 9 | 17 |
| Total Net Yards | 168 | 286 |
| Rushes-yards | 16-34 | 38-66 |
| Passing | 134 | 220 |
| Punt Returns | 6-152 | 2-16 |
| Kickoff Returns | 5-106 | 4-105 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 0-0 | 4-74 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 14-37-4 | 24-42-0 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 2-14 | 1-12 |
| Punts | 6-49.8 | 8-47.4 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-2 | 2-2 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-50 | 9-65 |
| Time of Possession | 20:17 | 39:43 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Chicago, Jones 11-39, Benson 1-4, McKie 1-(minus 2), Grossman 3-(minus 7). Arizona, James 36-55, Arrington 2-11.
PASSING—Chicago, Grossman 14-37-4-148. Arizona, Leinart 24-42-0-232.
RECEIVING—Chicago, Clark 4-61, Jones 3-14, Berrian 2-31, R.Davis 2-31, Benson 1-8, Muhammad 1-2, McKie 1-1. Arizona, Boldin 12-136, Walters 4-25, Arrington 2-22, Bry.Johnson 2-17, Ayanbadejo 2-16, Pope 1-9, James 1-7,
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Arizona, Rackers 52 (WL), 40 (WL).