Article

Chicago Bears savor magical weeks

There is no logical explanation for the manner in which the Bears have won their last two games
Gary D’Amatic - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Some teams win with smoke and mirrors, and then there are the Chicago Bears, who are getting it done with prayers and miracles.

There is no logical explanation for the manner in which the Bears have won their last two games. If you had bet $10 in Las Vegas that safety Mike Brown would intercept tipped passes and return them for winning touchdowns in overtime in consecutive weeks, you could buy Bill Gates with your pocket change.

What in the Halas is going on around here?

How do you explain back-to-back comebacks over San Francisco and Cleveland, in which Chicago made up two-touchdown deficits in the closing minutes? How do you explain the Hail Mary pass Sunday that wound up in running back James Allen’s hands as time expired, forcing overtime. How do you explain Brown’s deja vu skidoo?

“We are fighters,” defensive end Bryan Robinson said. “I was looking at (teammate) Phillip Daniels on the sideline and I said, `If we pull this game out, we are destined to go places.’ We are a team of destiny.”

“If you’re saying you make your own fate and your own destiny, then I believe in all of that,” Bearss Head Coach Dick Jauron said. “But if you’re saying we can practice on Wednesday, call it quits the rest of the week and show up on Sunday and win games, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Especially not this Sunday, when the Bears play host to the Packers at Soldier Field. The Bears are 6-1 and lead the NFC Central Division by one game over the 5-2 Packers.

“It’s a huge divisional game,” said Bears quarterback Jim Miller, who probably will be healthy enough to start after sitting out with a hip pointer Sunday. “It’s a great rivalry. There’s a lot of tradition. There’s a lot of pride involved. It’s a huge emotional game.”

True, Packers vs. Bears dates roughly to the Jurassic Period, but what makes this particular showdown attractive is that the teams will be battling for the division lead.

“A lot of crazy things are going to happen,” Miller said, “that might even top the things that have happened the last couple weeks.”

One thing is for sure. The Bears know they are nearing their season’s quota for miracles, if they have not already exceeded it. Against the Packers, they would prefer preparation and execution to pluck and luck.

“We don’t want to use up all our miracles, in case we need one later to make the playoffs,” wide receiver Marty Booker said. “We feel we’re playing with fire. They always say, sooner or later you’re going to get burned.”

Indeed. Change a few letters in destiny, and what you have is misery.