Everyone loves a good mystery, and the Chicago Bears unveiled their first chapter in Sunday’s regular-season debut against the formidable Cincinnati Bengals at Soldier Field.
The early reviews were mixed. Matt Forte scored from a yard out with 3:22 left in the third period as the Bears pulled to within 21-17, and that was the score entering the fourth quarter.
The Bears defense had its hands full with A.J. Green, who caught two first-half touchdown passes and drew a pass interference penalty on the first drive of the third quarter that set up a Benjarvus Green-Ellis 5-yard TD run for a 21-10 Bengals lead.
Charles Tillman commited the penalty that covered 34 yards as the Bengals marched 80 yards in 12 plays.
After Green scored his second touchdown of the day on a 45-yard pass from Andy Dalton to give the Bengals a 14-7 lead with 3:01 left before halftime, Robbie Gould nailed a career-best and team-record 58-yard field goal to make it 14-10 at intermission.
Green also scored on a 2-yard TD poss from Dalton with 2:38 remaining in the first quarter. It capped an impressive nine-play, 97-yard drive.
The Bears had drawn first blood, as quarterback Jay Cutler hit new tight end Martellus Bennett on an eight-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the first quarter. The touchdown call stood after a review.
The seven-play, 36-yard scoring drive was set up by a Charles Tillman interception of a Dalton pass.
Cutler completed 10 of 19 passes for 70 yards and one TD in the first half. He had a passer rating of 78.8. Forte had 27 yards rushing on 11 carries (2.5 average).
The Bengals had 245 total yards; the Bears had 97.
With a new head coach, a new offense and a renewed sense of urgency to make the playoffs, the Bears had a daunting task against an expected AFC power. The Bengals made the AFC playoffs last season as a 10-6 wildcard team. The Bears missed out on the NFC playoffs in 2012, despite a 10-6 mark under former coach Lovie Smith.
Marc Trestman was set to make his debut as an NFL head coach with the Bears after serving in that capacity with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League for five years. Trestman’s extensive resume as an NFL assistant coach and mentor for quarterbacks encouraged Bears general manager Phil Emery to hire him to replace Smith.
The Bears entered the game as three-point favorites, but Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has had success against NFC opponents.
The Bears entered the game with a 17-3 record in home-openers over the last 20 years.
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