Every (under)dog has its day, and until about eight minutes remained, Sunday was simply the Bears’ day.
The 0-4 Bears watched with relief as the “Pack is Back” Packers turned into the grin-and-bear-it Bears. Wisconsin hasn’t seen such self-destruction since Brewers announcer Bob Uecker played baseball. Lombardi must have turned over in his grave after each turnover.
Brett Favre set the off-key tone on the first play by coolly whipping an interception right to Bears safety Tony Parrish. Then came penalties, two lost fumbles, a dropped touchdown pass, an incorrectly overturned replay challenge and a 24-3 deficit early in the third quarter.
When Cade McNown lost the handle on a handoff to Eddie Kennison, who fumbled, the ball bounced right up to Kennison and off he went for 52 yards. Thank you, God. When lefty McNown, scrambling right, tried to throw a cross-body, cross-field bomb to Marcus Robinson, the resulting rainbow could have been fair caught by either of two Packers defensive backs. Robinson snatched the ball just before they collided and he walked into the end zone. Hail, Mary.
Bad plays, bad luck, bad timing. For the starving Bears, it was rack of Lambeau. The Packers blitzed just as coordinator Gary Crowton called–for the first and only time–the wide-receiver screen he has worn out in recent weeks. Strat-o-matic TD, Robinson going untouched for another touchdown.
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“I want my money back!” yelled a Packers fan sitting below the press box.
Yet Favre’s swashbuckling body language was always: “Let’s get serious. We can’t lose to the Bears.”
He almost didn’t. His three TD passes made a game of it. In the dawn’s early light, this one should be viewed as two lower-echelon teams playing a captivating game for the wrong reasons.
But that doesn’t quite do the Bears justice. Give them credit: They were handed a lead they could have lost in Favre’s back yard, and they made it stand up. They lost a little less than the Packers lost.
In the final minutes the Bears made plays on offense and defense when they absolutely had to. In the end they put enough heat on Favre–Phillip Daniels lives and breathes fire–to keep Favre from making another minor miracle.
The weird irony was that McNown played his most effective pro game while playing–by conventional passing standards–one of his poorest. If nothing else this little banty rooster is brazenly, unsinkably, naively tough. His downfield vision seemed to blur even quicker than usual Sunday, prompting him to take off and take on tacklers before receivers could come open.
But the 208-pounder is proving to be the Bears’ most dangerous runner, as strong as he is headstrong. Of course, you wonder how much longer McNown can avoid being turned into scrambled eggs by lip-licking tacklers. But for now the Bears have a better chance of avoiding a game-wrecking turnover with McNown tucking and running than McNown flinging.
Three of his prayers could have been intercepted. None was. But not once during 10 cover-your-eyes runs and five sacks did McNown fumble.
He’s at his best rolling and keeping or flipping little floaters to wide-open backs or blocking backs. This is no way to get to the playoffs. But this is how the Bears survived a Packers team with an aging, leaky defense.
You might say McNown’s life has become Energizer Bunny meets Playboy Bunny. According to the current Sports Illustrated, McNown has stolen away the Playmate of the Year girlfriend of (former?) buddy Tim Couch, Cleveland’s QB. So how did McNown respond after ripping fans for booing him and having to respond to his personal-life soap opera?
“He seemed humbler, but just as confident,” Crowton said.
Perhaps that was because coaches and executives strongly suggested he act “humbler.” After Sunday’s win, up stepped Contrite Cade, blaming himself for the 0-4 start, apologizing for “shifting blame” to teammates and all but saying they had to overcome his poor throws against Green Bay.
Don’t buy a second of this act. He remains Cade McBrat. To humble him would be to sap his one strength. If only he could back it up with his arm.
The truly humble Brian Urlacher can back it up. His ferocious speed is lifting the defense against the run and pass. He and the 27-24 final were the brightest spots on a day that belonged to the Bears.