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First, Eddie Jackson removed the ball from receiver Tee Higgins after a 14-yard reception and Tashaun Gipson Sr. returned the Bengals’ 13-yard fumble to 39 yards. The Bears then intercepted three straight passes from Joe Burrow in 2:49, which Roquan Smith returned 53 yards for his first NFL touchdown. Jaylon Johnson and Angelo Blackson followed with their first career interceptions.
“I think it was just the defense trying to play up to our standards,” said Robert Quinn, who recorded one of the Bears’ four sacks. “Keep the points off the board or have them return the ball. The guys were out there driving around, having fun. We needed it. [takeaways] today to keep some momentum on our side. “
Offensively, Justin Fields replaced injured Andy Dalton in the second quarter. Dalton injured his knee after going out of bounds on a 14-yard run. The veteran quarterback returned for a streak, but then came out and missed the rest of the game.
“It was crazy,” Fields said. “You’re constantly being told ‘Be prepared, you never know what might happen’ and it happened. Andy came out and I just got thrown in. I think I was pretty prepared, but he There were definitely some mistakes made there. I’m just going to go see the movie and learn from those mistakes. “
Dalton looked sharp at first, completing 9 of 11 passes for 56 yards and a 118.2 passer rating. In the game’s first possession, he connected on 6 of 7 throws for 39 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown to Allen Robinson II that gave the Bears a 7-0 lead. Dalton also ran for 25 yards on two carries.
The offense missed the rest of the way, generating just 131 yards and no touchdowns on its last nine possessions. In the fourth quarter, the Bears were forced to settle for goals from Cairo Santos for 28 and 22 yards after hitting the 5 and 4 for the Bengals.
Fields completed 6 of 13 passes for 60 yards with an interception and passer rating of 27.7 and rushed for 31 yards on 10 carries.
One of the rookie quarterback’s most impressive plays came in the third quarter when he lost a fumble on a third down sack by defensive end Trey Hendrickson. It appeared linebacker Logan Wilson was going to retrieve the loose ball and return it for a touchdown. But Fields, crawling on his hands and knees, slid the ball away from Wilson and retrieved it, allowing the Bears to kick in fourth.
“It was just me trying to get the ball back,” Fields said. “I think the ball was knocked out from behind me or something. I saw it on the ground. I know I was tackled and I was just trying to reach for the ball. It was definitely going to be. a touchdown if I didn’t get it. It was just pure effort. I was just trying to do my part and help my team win. “
While the Bears scored 10 points in 3:57 early in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 17-3, the Bengals responded with 14 points in 1:00 late in the period to close the gap to 20-17.
Burrow threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase. Three plays later, Fields ‘pass to the middle was intercepted by Wilson, who sent it 18 yards behind the Bears’ 7. In the next snap, Burrow unleashed a 7 yard TD pass to Higgins, bringing them back. Bengals at 20-17. with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter.
But the Bears had two first downs in their subsequent practice, allowing Fields to end the game with three straight snaps in winning lineup. The key play came on the third and 9th of the Chicago 26s when Fields broke a tackle and rushed for 10 yards, giving the Bears another streak of lows with 2:05 to go.
David Montgomery won the second first down with back-to-back runs of 6 and 4 yards to score the victory. The third-year running back amassed 61 yards on 20 carries.
“You have the choice, then the touchdown, and now all of a sudden it’s the third down and Justin is having a great game with his legs,” Nagy said. “And those are things he can do, he can extend the games. I thought it was a big effort on his part to get the first one and then for us to get the first goal with David in four minutes. with the offensive line when we needed it to, those were the bright spots. “
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