Advertisement

Chicago Bears stun Baltimore Ravens with overtime field goal

By Todd Karpovich, The Sports Xchange
Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller (86) and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10) celebrate a 21-yard touchdown reception against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half of an NFL game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, October 15, 2017. Photo by David Tulis/UPI
1 of 4 | Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller (86) and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10) celebrate a 21-yard touchdown reception against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half of an NFL game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, October 15, 2017. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo

BALTIMORE -- Chicago rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky spent much of the afternoon dodging defenders, bouncing off tacklers and buying himself just enough time to make several key plays.

One of the biggest contributions was his 18-yard pass to Kendall Wright with 2:11 left in overtime against Baltimore. That play set up a 39-yard field goal by Connor Barth, providing the Bears a wild 27-24 victory over the Ravens on Sunday.

Advertisement

"This was a lot of fun," said Trubisky, who absorbed four sacks. "We were playing in a hostile environment. It's a tough place to play. We were playing a good team and we won."

Chicago (2-4) snapped a 10-game losing streak on the road. The Bears also forced three turnovers after managing just three takeaways during the first five games.

Advertisement

The Ravens (3-3) did not score an offensive touchdown.

Michael Campanaro returned a punt 77 yards to pull the Ravens to within 24-22 with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Joe Flacco converted the 2-point conversion with a pass to tight end Nick Boyle that sent the game to overtime.

Trubisky did a solid job managing the game and completed 8 of 16 passes for 113 yards with a touchdown. He also picked up 32 yards on the ground with four carries. Trubisky became just the first rookie quarterback to win in Baltimore in the John Harbaugh era

"Hard fought, very disappointing," Harbaugh said. "Obviously, (Chicago) made the plays they needed, especially with the turnovers and the interceptions. I thought our guys played their hearts out. I thought our guys played hard. They fought their way back."

With Ravens nose tackle Brandon Williams out for the fourth straight game, the Ravens struggled against the run again, allowing 231 yards, the most in franchise history. Howard ran for a career-high 167 yards, including a vital 53-yard scamper in overtime, on 36 carries.

Cornerback Bryce Callahan got the Bears' first interception of the season and returned it 52 yards to the Ravens 20. The Bears capitalized when running back Tarik Cohen took a handoff from Trubisky and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Miller for a 10-0 lead with 2:53 left in the second quarter.

Advertisement

Trubisky continued to make plays and extended Chicago's lead to 17-3 with 6:01 left in the third quarter with a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dion Sims, who got behind safety Tony Jefferson.

"It's all about the hearts of the players," Chicago head coach John Fox said. "The players, the coaches and everybody, we're all in it together. You tell them what we have to do to win the game, and it was evident they did."

With the offense sputtering, the Ravens' special teams provided a spark. Bobby Rainey, who was signed by the team Tuesday, returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.

The Bears made another key mistake later when a fumble by Cohen gave Baltimore the ball at midfield. That led to a field goal that cut the margin to 17-13.

Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb had a strip-sack on Trubisky that gave Baltimore the ball on its own 48 with 9:21 remaining. After Javorius "Buck" Allen converted a fourth-and-1, Chicago safety Adrian Amos, a Baltimore native, intercepted Flacco and ran 90 yards for the score and a 24-13 lead.

"Honestly, we had no business being in that game the way we played as a team," Ravens safety Eric Weddle said. "It's just unfortunate that we didn't capitalize once we got them off the field in overtime and I have to make that tackle (on Howard's 53-yard run). That's the deciding play. That's why we lost."

Advertisement

Flacco struggled throughout the game, but he was not helped by his receivers who dropped several passes. Flacco was 24 of 41 for 180 yards with two interceptions. He had a 48.8 passer rating.

Baltimore committed eight penalties for 69 yards.

"You have to be able to deal with the ups and downs of a season and continue to roll through," Flacco said. "It's still early on and we're a 3-3 football team. It does not feel good. Obviously, losses are going to affect you in a certain way. We have to keep our heads down and keep going."

NOTES: Chicago RB Taquan Mizzell, who was waived by the Ravens after training camp, was inactive. ... Baltimore WR Jeremy Maclin was inactive because of a shoulder injury. Breshad Perriman got the start in his place and also had to leave the game with a possible concussion. ... Bears CB Sherrick McManis injured his hamstring defending a punt in the first quarter and did not return.

Latest Headlines