Sports Eagles
Eagles can't hold on
Nick Fierro Of The Morning Call
PHILADELPHIA -- Two crucial first-half turnovers and a second-half collapse by their defense conspired to make the Philadelphia Eagles 30-24 losers at home to the Chicago Bears Monday evening at Lincoln Financial Field.
Battling from behind the entire first half, the Eagles finally took the lead with the help of a key replay challenge by coach Andy Reid in which a non-fumble by the Bears was overturned, enabling the Eagles to capitalize by going 41 yards for a touchdown and a 24-17 lead late in the third quarter.
But the Bears responded with a fourth-quarter flurry in which they regained the momentum for good when the Eagles had rookie punter Chas Henry fake a punt and try to hit Colt Anderson with a pass instead. Losing 27-24 at the time, the Eagles (3-5) then didn't regain possession until after the Bears (5-3) drove for another field goal that set the final score with 3:58 remaining.
Henry and Anderson each claimed the play worked in practice all week, after they noticed the Bears sometimes leave an outside gunner uncovered.
But under the spotlight of national TV, Henry admitted he rushed it.
"I just didn't get a handle on it and I rushed it and I didn't get it over there in time," Henry said.
Henry's pass would not have been necessary had the Eagles' defense not faltered on its previous series, allowing quarterback Jay Cutler to take advantage of a short field set up by electric punt returner Devin Hester and drive the Bears 51 yards to regain the lead for good.
Cutler finished off the series, which Hester set up with a 19-yard punt return to the Bears' 49, with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Earl Bennett.
This marked the fourth time this season the Eagles have coughed up a fourth-quarter lead. But an interception and a lost fumble that resulted in 10 first-half points for the Bears proved to be just as costly as the Eagles fell further behind the first-place New York Giants in the NFC East.
"You have to learn from your mistakes," Reid said. "That's all you can do right now. We lost the game, so you can't bring that back. You have to learn from your mistakes and make sure you go out and better yourself."
But the Eagles will need more than just improvement to make the playoffs now. In addition to trailing the Giants (6-2) by three games, they're also behind second-place Dallas (4-4), Detroit (6-2), Chicago, Atlanta (5-3) and Tampa Bay (4-4) in a race for the two wild-card spots, with the Bears and Falcons already owning tiebreakers against them.
Their predicament is nothing short of shocking, according to running back LeSean McCoy, whose 33-yard touchdown run after Matt Forte's second fumble helped the Eagles take a 24-20 lead in the third quarter.
"Each loss we kind of had the game under control for the most part but found a way to lose it," he said.
Trent Cole knocked the ball loose from Forte following a 6-yard run midway through the third quarter, and Mike Patterson recovered at the Bears 41. Forte was originally ruled down, but the play was overturned when the Eagles challenged.
Two plays later, McCoy sprinted down the left side and into the end zone to score for the eighth straight game, tying Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren's club record
Earlier, Marion Barber's 2-yard touchdown run after a costly fumble by DeSean Jackson helped the Bears take a 17-10 lead into halftime.
Jackson, a Pro Bowl punt returner, was stripped by Corey Graham and the Bears recovered at the Eagles 9 with a minute left in the second quarter.
A roughing-the-passer penalty on Jason Babin gave Chicago a first down at the Eagles 2 after Jay Cutler threw an incomplete pass on third down. Barber then ran in from the 2.
Before that, Eagles linebacker Brian Rolle stripped Forte and returned the fumble 22 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter to tie it at 10.
The Bears had taken the early lead when Cutler threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Matt Spaeth and Robbie Gould added a 51-yard field goal.
Henery kicked a career-high 47-yard field goal for the Eagles, and the defense made a big play on Chicago's ensuing series.
The Bears took the opening kickoff and drove 79 yards on 12 plays, capped by Cutler's TD toss to Spaeth.
Forte had 52 yards rushing on the drive, and the Bears got 60 of the 79 yards on the ground. Cutler completed two passes, including a 14-yard toss to Earl Bennett on third-and-7.
After struggling badly against the run the first five weeks, the Eagles improved in the last two games. They allowed just 127 yards rushing combined in wins against Washington and Dallas.
Michael Vick, seeking his first win as a starter in four tries against the Bears, had a rough first half. He was 8 of 15 for 84 yards and threw an interception in the red zone. Vick had just 8 yards rushing.
McCoy, who had a career-best 185 yards rushing against Dallas last week, was held to just 33 yards on nine carries in the first half. He finished with 71 rushing yards.
Helped by a pass interference call on Major Wright that kept their second drive going, the Eagles reached the Bears' 19 early in the second quarter. But Vick made a poor throw into double coverage that was picked by Wright, who returned it 36 yards to the Bears 48.
That set up Gould's field goal, which was made possible when Cutler threw a 26-yard pass to Bennett on third-and-16 to the Eagles 32.
Vick connected with Jeremy Maclin for 31 yards to the Bears 40 on third-and-9. The drive stalled and Henery made his first field goal from beyond 38 yards.
Philadelphia safety Nate Allen left the game after sustaining a concussion in the first quarter.
Beloved former Eagles coach Buddy Ryan was honored at halftime. Ryan, who is battling cancer, was Chicago's defensive coordinator during their Super Bowl championship season in 1985. He came to Philadelphia the next season and led the Eagles to the playoffs in 1988-90.
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