Late field goal caps Bears rally
Solid Gould finish
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| Bears kicker Robbie Gould (9) kicks the game-winning 41-yard field goal in the final seconds Sunday to beat the Panthers 23-22 at Soldier Field. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) (Nam Y. Huh) |
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CHICAGO – Brandon
Marshall saw the grin on Jay Cutler’s face, and that was all it took to put him at ease.
The Chicago Bears were trailing again. Time was running out.
“That’s when you want that type of quarterback,” Marshall said.
Robbie Gould kicked a 41-yard field goal as time expired after Cutler rallied the Bears in the fourth quarter for a 23-22 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
The Bears trailed 19-7 in the fourth period when the game turned in a big way.
Chicago (6-1) took over on the Carolina 38 after Brad Nortman shanked a 6-yard punt, and Cutler connected with Kellen Davis on a 12-yard scoring pass with just under 7 minutes left.
On Carolina’s next play from scrimmage, Steve Smith slipped on an out pattern and Tim Jennings returned his second interception of the game 25 yards to make it 20-19. The pass failed on the 2-point attempt.
Cam Newton drove the Panthers to the Chicago 27, and Justin Medlock’s 45-yard field goal hit the right upright and went through to put Carolina ahead 22-20 with 2:27 remaining. But Cutler moved the Bears 55 yards to the 23-yard line, going 6 of 7 before Gould nailed his winner.
“[Cutler] gets up smiling,” Marshall said. “I’m sitting here shaking – a little bit of the cold weather, a little bit of (being) nervous – and he just starts smiling like, ‘Well, here we go.’ It just put me at ease right away. The guys feel that vibe and they play off of it.”
For Newton and the Panthers (1-6), the vibe couldn’t be worse.
They fired their general manager during the week amid turmoil about their performances, and then dropped their fifth straight game after dominating for most of the day.
Carolina gained 416 yards and had six sacks against Cutler, with Greg Hardy getting to him three times. But somehow, Chicago pulled it out.
“Not heartbreaking,” Smith said. “Tiresome, monotonous, a few guys in here are perturbed and [ticked], but we’re beyond heartbreak. We’re just getting upset.”
Cutler completed 19 of 28 passes for 186 yards after having his ribs bruised by Detroit’s Ndamukong Suh on Monday night.
Marshall had 98 yards receiving and Matt Forte ran for 70 yards and a touchdown for Chicago. And with Jennings running back that interception, Chicago’s defense has six touchdowns on the season.
“We were down,” Jennings said. “We knew we had to score on defense. Our captains rallied up the troops. We knew that if we got our hands on the ball we had to score. That’s been our mentality all season. I was able to be in the right position and make a play.”
Newton threw for 314 yards and Smith added 118 receiving for Carolina. Medlock nailed five field goals, but the Panthers took another stinging loss.
With the worst record in the NFC, they let longtime GM Marty Hurney go Monday while making it clear no one except maybe Newton is safe.
Even he’s come under criticism in recent weeks for his demeanor, and adding to the Panthers’ woes was a mounting list of injuries. Three-time Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil (foot), cornerback Chris Gamble (shoulder) and three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Jon Beason (knee and shoulder) went down for the rest of the season in recent weeks.
“This was a challenging week, not only for myself, but for any Carolina Panther fan that has been following us,” Newton said. “We just have to come out and keep enduring and keep going and keep going. It tells a lot about the teammates and what type of team you have faced with adversity.”
