OAKLAND, Calif. — With one perfect deep pass, Rex Grossman just might
have won back his starting quarterback job and saved the Chicago Bears'
season.
Grossman replaced an injured Brian Griese and threw a 59-yard pass to
Bernard Berrian for the go-ahead score with 3:11 remaining, leading the
Bears to a 17-6 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
Sebastian Janikowski's 52-yard field goal with 4:04 remaining gave
Oakland (2-7) a 6-3 lead that looked as if it could be enough on a day
when neither offense could move the ball.
Then Grossman, who had struggled in his first game since Sept. 23,
turned back into Good Rex, the quarterback who helped lead the Bears
(4-5) to the Super Bowl last season instead of the one whose turnovers
cost him his job earlier this season.
After the Bears almost botched the kickoff, Grossman hit Cedric Benson
on an 11-yard pass over the middle.
On the next play, Berrian sprinted past Chris Carr, who was forced into
a starting role at cornerback because of injuries to Nnamdi Asomugha and
Fabian Washington. He caught the deep pass in stride and went into the
end zone with the go-ahead score.
Grossman, who had been 5-for-12 for 72 yards before the winning drive,
leaped into teammate John Tait's arms and flashed a smile that hadn't
been seen in a long while.
The Bears won in their first game after the bye, but still have plenty
more to do if they want to make it back to the playoffs. It just might
be Grossman who has to lead them there now after leading this comeback
and with Griese dealing with an injured shoulder.
The Raiders went three-and-out on their next drive after Grossman's TD pass.
After a Chicago punt, Adewale Ogunleye then forced a fumble by Josh
McCown that Israel Idonije recovered at the 3 with 1:39 remaining.
Cedric Benson ran it in on the next play to seal the victory. Benson
finished with 76 yards on 29 carries
Grossman was benched after throwing six interceptions and only one
touchdown pass in Chicago's first three games. Combined with his 23
interceptions in 19 games last season, the Bears had grown tired of all
of Grossman's mistakes and decided to go with the veteran Griese.
The move back to Grossman didn't look like it would pay off when he
fumbled the first center exchange with Olin Kreutz. He did little
positive until that one big pass to Berrian. Grossman finished 7-for-14
for 142 yards, and most importantly, no turnovers.
McCown was booed during pregame introductions by the fans eager for top
pick JaMarcus Russell to play. McCown didn't silence the critics, going
1-for-13 in a stretch that began late in the first half and ended after
Benson's touchdown put the game away.
Justin Fargas ran for 81 yards on 23 carries in his second straight
start, but also lost a key fumble in the second half. Oakland finished
with a season-low 193 yards of offense and lost its fifth straight game.
Raiders coach Lane Kiffin backed up his bold talk during the week and
did kick the ball to Chicago's dangerous returner Devin Hester almost
every time. Despite getting more chances that usual to add to his nine
return touchdowns in less than two seasons, Hester found little room to
run against Oakland's coverage units.
He returned one kickoff from 8 yards deep in the end zone and only
managed to make it out to the 11. He also twice lost 4 yards on punt
returns. Hester's one big play, a 64-yard punt return, was wiped out by
a holding call on Brendon Ayanbadejo.
Oakland scored on its opening drive when McCown's 24-yard run on the
opening play helped set up Janikowski's 37-yard field goal. Robbie Gould
answered with a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter.
