2008 Woodie Awards
Bears gve away game to Bengals
Orton throws five interceptions as Bears fall to 1-2
Mark Johnson
Issue date: 10/9/05 Section: Sports
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The Chicago Bears defense forced Detroit QB Joey Harrington to throw five interceptions when the Bears rocked the Lions with a 38-6 win two weeks ago.
This past Sunday, Bears rookie Kyle Orton threw five picks, and the result was the Bears struggling with a 24-7 home loss to the Cincinatti Bengals, who are now 3-0.
Orton's struggles began on the Bears' first drive, though he could not really be blamed. WR Justin Gage got his hands on an Orton pass on the first play from scrimmage but bobbled it, and Cincinatti LB Brian Simmons was there to grab it. He then fumbled after being hit by Gage, but fellow LB Odell Thurman picked it up and ran 23 yards to the Chicago 18.
Only one play later, Cincinatti QB Carson Palmer found star WR Chad Johnson open between Bears DBs Charles Tillman and Mike Brown, and the Bengals grabbed the advantage with 13:46 still to play in the first quarter.
Still, even after three more interceptions, the Bengals still had not put together a legitimate scoring drive into the third quarter. But at about the 7:00 mark, Cincinatti DB Deltha O'Neal picked off Orton for the fifth time, his fourth of the season.
Palmer then drove the Bengals the length of the field, finishing the drive with a 36-yard touchdown strike to Chris Henry as Cincinatti went ahead 17-0.
The Bears finally got on the scoreboard in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, when HB Thomas Jones, who ended up with 106 rushing yards on 27 carries, dove in from the two and cut Chicago's deficit to 17-7. But a 40-yard scoring pass from Palmer to Johnson less than a minute later erased any notions of a Bears comeback.
Orton, who finished the game 17-for-39 for 149 yards and the five picks for a rating of 14.7, was not Chicago's only scapegoat. Gage and Bobby Wade both lost control of balls for turnovers, which put additional pressure on the rookie signal-caller to make plays later in the game.
New Bears K Doug Brien did little to change fan's early poor impressions, missing his only field goal try from 39 yards when the Bears seemed to be gaining momentum. Jerry Azumah did not return a kickoff more than 19 yards during the game as the Bears lost the field position battle. And the secondary was burned several times as Palmer threw for his three touchdowns.
Still, Jones did continue to pile up yards behind an offensive line that did not allow a sack, relegating rookie HB Cedric Benson to the bench the entire time. DE Adewale Ogunleye, who was questionable because of a sprained ankle, played and got a sack of Palmer.
And Brian Urlacher forced a fumble that was recovered by fellow LB Lance Briggs.
But the positives were not enough for the Bears to knock off the Bengals, though Chicago now has its bye week to lick its wounds before facing the Cleveland Browns in week five.
This past Sunday, Bears rookie Kyle Orton threw five picks, and the result was the Bears struggling with a 24-7 home loss to the Cincinatti Bengals, who are now 3-0.
Orton's struggles began on the Bears' first drive, though he could not really be blamed. WR Justin Gage got his hands on an Orton pass on the first play from scrimmage but bobbled it, and Cincinatti LB Brian Simmons was there to grab it. He then fumbled after being hit by Gage, but fellow LB Odell Thurman picked it up and ran 23 yards to the Chicago 18.
Only one play later, Cincinatti QB Carson Palmer found star WR Chad Johnson open between Bears DBs Charles Tillman and Mike Brown, and the Bengals grabbed the advantage with 13:46 still to play in the first quarter.
Still, even after three more interceptions, the Bengals still had not put together a legitimate scoring drive into the third quarter. But at about the 7:00 mark, Cincinatti DB Deltha O'Neal picked off Orton for the fifth time, his fourth of the season.
Palmer then drove the Bengals the length of the field, finishing the drive with a 36-yard touchdown strike to Chris Henry as Cincinatti went ahead 17-0.
The Bears finally got on the scoreboard in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, when HB Thomas Jones, who ended up with 106 rushing yards on 27 carries, dove in from the two and cut Chicago's deficit to 17-7. But a 40-yard scoring pass from Palmer to Johnson less than a minute later erased any notions of a Bears comeback.
Orton, who finished the game 17-for-39 for 149 yards and the five picks for a rating of 14.7, was not Chicago's only scapegoat. Gage and Bobby Wade both lost control of balls for turnovers, which put additional pressure on the rookie signal-caller to make plays later in the game.
New Bears K Doug Brien did little to change fan's early poor impressions, missing his only field goal try from 39 yards when the Bears seemed to be gaining momentum. Jerry Azumah did not return a kickoff more than 19 yards during the game as the Bears lost the field position battle. And the secondary was burned several times as Palmer threw for his three touchdowns.
Still, Jones did continue to pile up yards behind an offensive line that did not allow a sack, relegating rookie HB Cedric Benson to the bench the entire time. DE Adewale Ogunleye, who was questionable because of a sprained ankle, played and got a sack of Palmer.
And Brian Urlacher forced a fumble that was recovered by fellow LB Lance Briggs.
But the positives were not enough for the Bears to knock off the Bengals, though Chicago now has its bye week to lick its wounds before facing the Cleveland Browns in week five.
