 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
PONTIAC, Michigan (Ticker) -- Sundays are becoming history lessons for the Chicago Bears. The Bears inched closer to their first division title in 11 years with a 24-0 rout of the hapless Detroit Lions as Jim Miller passed for a season-high 252 yards and two touchdowns. The surprise team of the season, Chicago (12-3) has won 12 games for the first time since 1988, which also was the last time it swept the series from Detroit. The Bears can clinch their first NFC Central crown in next week's season finale against Jacksonville. "We try to play every game as it comes," Chicago coach Dick Jauron said. "We played hard. They had some injuries, but we concentrate on us. We're going to just see what we can do to our guys and not worry about what we do to their guys. We have a game plan. But these are things we have done all year." Miller settled matters early with touchdown passes of 28 yards to D'Wayne Bates and 20 yards to David Terrell in the game's first 10:06. He completed 17-of-30 passes and eclipsed his previous season best of 232 yards in a 24-0 blanking of Cincinnati on October 21. "We thought we could attack them," Miller said. "They were a little beat up defensively, especially in the secondary. You look at Marty (Booker), D'Wayne and David making those big plays. Obviously, that gave our offense a boost." Booker was Miller's favorite target, catching nine passes for 115 yards to break the Bears' single-season record with 94 receptions. Johnny Morris set the previous mark with 93 in 1964. "It means a lot. To come in and get the record and win a key ballgame is very exciting right now," Booker said. "I wasn't really worried about the record as long as we were winning ballgames." Anthony Thomas, who played collegiately at nearby Michigan, became the third Chicago rookie to top the 1,000-yard mark, joining Beattie Feathers (1934) and Rashaan Salaam (1995). Thomas carried 25 times for 76 yards, pushing his total to 1,023. "It's an honor, but it's more on the offensive linemen. They worked hard," Thomas said. "I know my goals are set really high. It's not something I'm thinking about right now. You just want to go out and win the game. The yards are something you think about in the offseason." The Bears made life miserable for Ty Detmer, sacking him six times and intercepting him twice, with cornerback Walt Harris returning one 39 yards to cap the scoring late in the fourth quarter. Detmer was 31-of-51 for 303 yards but could not prevent the Lions (1-14) from getting shut out for the second time this season, something that had not occurred since 1978. Detroit has been blanked twice at home for the first time since an 0-11 season in 1942. "That was a very good team today," Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg said. "When you turn the ball over that many times against a football team like that, you have very little chance of winning. Once again, we gave up some scores early and then we simply didn't have enough offensive firepower to get back in it." The Bears took the opening kickoff and raced 74 yards in five plays. Miller hit Bates for 28 yards on the second play from scrimmage and found the Northwestern product again three plays later for the 28-yard touchdown. "D'Wayne has always been steady for us. I'm just so happy for him to get that opportunity right off the bat, making those big catches," Miller said. "It's not fun to be sitting on the bench. I want to be on the field," said Bates, who replaced the injured Dez White. "I do my best and do what I have to do. I had some opportunites in other games, but it didn't work out. ... Two seasons and 15 games, I finally got one." After forcing a punt, Chicago needed seven plays to cover 80 yards. On 3rd-and-8 from the Lions' 20, Miller hit Terrell, another Michigan product, for a TD that made it 14-0. "All week, the coaches got on my back, saying, 'You gotta do this, you gotta do that.' It was a big game for me and especially for my team to get the win," Terrell said. With Detroit continuing to struggle offensively, the Bears got on the board again with 5:47 left in the second quarter. A 40-yard pass from Miller to Bates set up a 38-yard field goal by Michigan State product Paul Edinger and gave Chicago a 17-0 halftime lead. The Lions did not get inside the Bears' 40-yard line until late in the third quarter, when an option pass from running back Lamont Warren was intercepted in the end zone by safety Mike Brown. Detroit got to the Chicago 37 early in the fourth qurter, but Detmer was picked off by linebacker Warrick Holdman. "I'm not happy at all. We got shut out," Detmer said. "When that happens, it means the quarterback isn't making enough plays." |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
