EAST RUTHERFORD—With a game left in the preseason, coach Lovie Smith still wants to see more from the Bears, especially on offense.Backup Jason Campbell threw a go-ahead, 12-yard touchdown pass to Joe Anderson with 8:22 to play and the Bears rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat the Super Bowl champion New York Giants 20-17 on Friday night.
“We hung in there and found a way to win at the end,” Smith said. “We got some things accomplished. No major injuries. We wanted to see where we are against the Super Bowl champions.”
The truth was the first team was just OK. The Bears (2-1) knocked off the Giants (1-2) because their second team was better than New York’s backups.
“It was hit and miss,” Bears starting quarterback Jay Cutler said. “We did some good things but we missed some communication stuff. We got to get the running game going. We’ve got to get Matt (Forte) going. We’re not going to be a successful offense if we can’t run the ball.”
Cutler had one good series in the first half, hitting Brandon Marshall with a 21-yard, first-quarter touchdown pass along the right sideline to briefly put the Bears ahead 7-3.
“Me and Brandon are working on a few things,” said Cutler, who was 9 of 21 for 96 yards. “Everything is a little bit off a count in the passing game. We made some plays but we missed stuff. It’s easily fixed but it needs to be fixed in the next week.”
Marshall had a team-high five catches for 51 yards.
“The only people that can really stop us is us,” Marshall said. “You’ve got to give respect to that defense, especially that front four. Give respect but tonight it was on our side.”
Robbie Gould kicked two field goals for the Bears and Isaiah Frey intercepted a pass in the end zone with 1:06 to play to preserve the win.Eli Manning threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ramses Barden, Andre Brown scored on a 1-yard run and Lawrence Tynes kicked a 32-yard field goal for New York.
“We had some good plays, but we left a couple things out there,” said Manning, who was 17 of 21 for 148 yards. “But overall I thought it was pretty good.”
The Giants threatened in the final minutes with David Carr moving them to the Bears 38. A roughing-the-passer penalty nullified an interception on the ensuing play and a 10-yard pass to Isaiah Stanback got the ball to the Bear 12. However, Anthony Walters tipped a pass to DePalma in the end zone and Frey made the interception.
“It came down to a play at the end and we were not able to make it,” Carr said. “I should have thrown the ball away.”
Campbell, who came into the game battling Josh McCown for the Bears’ backup job, may have won it, completing 12 of 19 passes for 101 yards and leading two scoring drives.Down 17-7 at the half, Cutler took the opening series of the second half for the Bears and led them on a quick, seven-play, 59-yard march that Gould capped with a 30-yard field goal.Campbell took the Bears 39 yards on the next drive, with Gould hitting from 48. A third-down pass interference penalty against safety Stevie Brown kept the drive alive.The game-winning drive for the Bears was 11 plays covering 58 yards. Campbell converted on three third-down passes, the last going to Anderson, who broke a tackle by Bruce Johnson to get into the end zone.The biggest thing to come out of the game for the Giants was the play of rookie running back David Wilson and another good game from New York’s defense, which limited the Bears to a touchdown in the first half.Wilson, who started because Ahmad Bradshaw bruised a hand last week against the Jets, was not only exciting, gaining 49 yards on five carries, but if he can play like this, New York will have a running game to accompany Manning’s passing.Wilson had runs of 20 and 15 yards and rambled 29 yards with a short pass on consecutive plays to set up Tynes’ 32-yard field goal with 5:04 left in the opening quarter.Cutler led the Bears on a 59-yard, seven-play scoring drive right after the field goal. A 19-yard run by Devin Hester on an end around got things going and the veteran Bears quarterback finished it off with a perfect throw down the right sideline to Marshall for a 21-yard touchdown.Giants safety Kenny Phillips seemingly had a chance to make a play on the ball, but he took a bad angle and Marshall ran past him to make the catch for a 7-3 lead.New York starting cornerback Prince Amukamara sustained a right high ankle sprain on the series and did not return.Manning and Barden, who is fighting to make the roster, made the big plays for the Giants in a 14-point second quarter that put New York ahead 17-7 at the half.Manning hit all seven of his passes in a 10-play, 58 yard touchdown drive that ended with an 11-yard pass to Barden, who also had a 13-yard reception on the drive. The Super Bowl MVP also converted two third-down passes to Victor Cruz and new tight end Martellus Bennett to the march alive.Second-year running back Da’Rel Scott set up the second touchdown, blocking a punt by Ryan Quigley at the Bears 10. A pass interference on Charles Tillman in the end zone against Barden put the ball at the 1 and Brown scored on the next play.
NOTES—The Bears close out the Pre Season Thursday night against the Browns in Cleveland.