What a difference a week makes! After looking absolutely terrible throughout the preseason, everything came together for the Bears when it mattered the most: on Opening Day. In what was supposed to be an embarrassing loss at the hands of the always tough Indianapolis Colts in primetime, the Bears relied on tough defense and a revitalized running game to stun Indy with a 29-13 victory.
Rookie RB Matt Forte was clearly the star of the game for Chicago. The former Tulane standout carried the ball 23 times for 123 yards and 1 touchdown, becoming the first Bears player to surpass the century mark in rushing in his debut. Fifty of those rushing yards came on his first quarter TD scamper, but even so, Forte remained highly effective for the rest of the game.
Quarterback Kyle Orton didn’t try to do anything more than he was asked — which was basically to hand the ball off and not turn it over. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 150 yards.
The defense looked tremendous, limiting the dangerous Colts to a meager 53 yards rushing on the night. Because they were playing from behind most of the time, Indianapolis took to the air to try to move the ball, but were equally frustrated there. Peyton Manning was 30-of-49 for 257 yards and one touchdown, but failed to get into a sustained rhythm on offense after not playing at all during the preseason.
Overall, I was very impressed by the Bears in this game. I didn’t watch much of the preseason, but according to all the articles I read and analysis I listened to, the Bears were terrible and weren’t supposed to do anything good this year. Everyone called the defense overrated and said the offense wouldn’t be able to sustain drives, but that obviously didn’t happen tonight. And this wasn’t some cupcake team they played, either. The Colts are usually strong on both sides of the ball, so this victory is definitely one to be proud of.
I’m a very happy Bears fan tonight!! Go BEARS!!!
(AP Photo/AJ Mast)