Saints 10 Bears 14 The Saints' failure to convert turnovers into points allowed the Bears to hang around and win via a pair of late Matthews-to-Conway TD passes. The Bears took the game's opening possession just past midfield before punting. The Saints began things with a pair of runs by Ricky Williams, whose participation had been all but ruled out by Ditka earlier in the week. Those two carries were good for a total of 21 yds, but the next three plays were a sack, a 3 yd loss by Lamar Smith, and another sack (the ball came loose and lay on the ground for a spell; the Saints recovered). Tommy Barnhardt's punt travelled to the 50. Chicago ran Enis four times in a row for a total of 16 yds. A 10 yd throw to Conway moved the sticks on 2nd & 8; Enis picked up 3 on 4th & 1 from the 15. On the next play, however, a La'Roi Glover sack freed the ball, which was recovered by Wayne Martin. The Saints went 3 & punt because Cam Cleeland dropped an easy 3rd down throw that would've moved the chains. McNown came in at QB for the Bears and contributed a 3 & punt series. The Saints went on a mini-drive- Billy Joe Hobert threw to Eddie Kennison for 18 on 2nd & 7, then hit Andre Hastings for 7 on 3rd & 4; Ricky ran for 14 to put the ball at the Chicago 30. On 4th & 9 from the 29, the team assumed FG formation, but the snap went to Doug Brien, who pooch-kicked the ball to the 10. The Bears managed a single 1st before the punter entered and McNown took a (permanent) seat on the bench. The O went on its only TD drive of the day, with the key plays being a 16 yd Smith catch, a 12 yd Scott Slutzker catch, and a 10 yd pass interference penalty that put the ball on the 8. On 3rd & goal from the 2, Hobert ran it in with a QB draw. However, he took a lick on the play and was carted off the field after an extended stay on the turf. The PAT made it 7-0 Saints with 4:32 left in the half. Matthews re-entered the game for Chicago but only managed to pick up a single 1st. Billy Joe Tolliver came in for the Saints and presided over a 3 & punt series in which Smith fumbled at the NO 20 (Jerry Fontenot recovered). The Bears took control at midfield with 39 seconds to go before halftime, but couldn't reach FG range. The half ended with the score 7-0. Tolliver and the Saints began the second half with a 3 & punt series. The Bears converted 4th & 1 at the NO 41 and 4th & 7 at the NO 34, but (during a 3rd & 8 play that would've been good for a 1st) Troy Wilson forced a Bennett fumble, which Sammy Knight recovered at the 8. The team got out of the hole with a 10 yd Williams catch and a 33 yd Tolliver scramble before Barnhardt punted into the endzone. On the next play, Ashley Ambrose intercepted a pass at the Chicago 39; the Saints converted the turnover into a 30 yd FG. Enis fumbled on the Bears' next play, but the Saints gave the ball back when Aaron Craver fumbled at the Bear 12 while stretching for a 1st. Two plays later, Ambrose picked off another throw in Chicago territory, but on 4th & 13 from the 28 Ditka elected to go for the 1st; Tolliver was sacked. The Bears drove to the NO 14 but came up empty when a weak FG attempt hit the crossbar. Four Williams runs (with a Keith Poole catch mixed in) put the team at the Chicago 24. On 4th & 1 from the 21, Smith failed to gain the 1st on the ground. With 4:35 remaining, the Bears patiently took what the Saints gave them while running the clock to 2:00- Enis 18 run, Enis 2 catch, Robinson 5 catch, Engram 8 catch, Enis 1 run, Wetnight 6 catch, Wetnight 9 catch, Conway 8 catch. Following an incompletion, Matthews hit Conway, who broke a tackle and made it into the endzone for a 22 yd score. The extra point made it a 3-point game with 1:48 left. Still possessing all their time-outs, the Bears elected to eschew the onside kick. Ricky ran for 19 on the Saints' first play, but on 3rd & 12 a deep throw for Kennison fell incomplete (a pass interference flag was thrown but then waved off after an officials' conference). Chicago took control at their 33 with 68 seconds remaining. Three throws to Wetnight yielded a catch, an incompletion, and a catch, for a total of 17 yds. At this point, Matthews exploited the matchup between Tyronne Drakeford and Conway, hitting the WR for 14, 30, and (with 6 seconds left) a 6 yd TD. The PAT set the final score; the game ended with an incomplete Hail Mary by the Saints. stats (view with a fixed-width font, like Courier) ^^^^^ runnin'........../..........passin' & catchin' 1- 2-1 B.J. Hobert 1- 33 B.J. Tolliver 21- 84 Ricky Williams 1- 10 10- 19 Lamar Smith 1- 16 1- 0 Aaron Craver 2- 10 1- 2 Keith Poole 1- 8 1- 37 Eddie Kennison 2- 23 2- 32 Andre Hastings 1- 7 1- 8 Cameron Cleeland 1- 13 Scott Slutzker 1- 12 34-138-1 TOTAL 8- 76 7-102 inc 5 8 INT 0 0 runnin'........../..........passin' & catchin' 3- 23 S. Matthews 1- 2 C. McNown 23- 83 Curtis Enis 1- 2 1- 4 James Allen Edgar Bennett 3- 27 Curtis Conway 8-103-2 Bobby Engram 4- 33 Marcus Robinson 1- 5 Macey Brooks 1- 4 Ryan Wetnight 6- 47 Alonzo Mayes 1- 3 28-112 TOTAL 25-224-2 inc 12 4 INT 2 0 notes ^^^^^ * Hobert's injury was diagnosed as a stinger, which shouldn't have long-term detrimental effects ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu