Visitor:  Chicago Bears

Home:  Arizona Cardinals

Date:  October 16, 2006

Monday Night Football

 

Scoring:

Team                1          2          3          4          Final

CHI                 0          0          10        14          24

ARI                  14        6          3          0            23

 

Visitor playmakers:

S Mike Brown, CB Charles Tillman, DB Devin Hester, LB Brian Urlacher, DE Mark Anderson

 

Home playmakers:

WR Bryant Johnson, WR Anquan Boldin

 

Network:  ESPN

Announcers:  Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann, Tony Kornheiser

 

Pregame:  No

Halftime:  No

Postgame:  Yes – Postgame conferences with head coaches

Commercials:  No

 

Grade:  Excellent

 

Notes:  Six turnovers, 3 points on offense, unbeaten at 6-0.  The Bears rallied from 20 points down at halftime and escaped with a victory, leaving the shell-shocked Cardinals to ponder yet another excruciating late-game collapse.

 

The Bears are off to their best start in 20 years. For that, they can thank their defense, punt returner Devin Hester and Arizona kicker Neil Rackers. QB Rex Grossman gets no credit for this one.

 

Down 20-0 at halftime, Chicago 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.

 

Matt Leinart, who threw two first-quarter touchdowns and finished 24 for 42 for 232 yards, coolly directed Arizona downfield at the finish for a chance to claim a victory that appeared to be the Cardinals' all night. 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).  The previous week he missed a 51-yard attempt at the finish that would have sent the game against Kansas City into overtime.

 

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. Similar collapses occurred against St. Louis and Kansas City.

 

Edgerrin James carried 36 times for only 55 yards, an average of 1.5 yards. It was the most carries in an NFL game by a player while averaging less than 2 yards per attempt.

 

After Grossman threw his fourth interception, the Cardinals were trying to use up time. But Brian Urlacher stripped the ball from 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.

 

On their next possession, the Cardinals were forced to punt. Hester caught the ball, broke a few arm tackles and weaved around hapless defenders as he 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 for 37 for 148 yards.

 

Accustomed to the bright lights that came with three national championship game appearances at USC, Leinart was anything but intimidated. He was 5 for 5 on a 12-play, 77-yard touchdown drive on Arizona's opening attack.

 

Running time:  2:17 (2 discs)