If the Bears are a Super Bowl team, they better hope that they won't have to face the Patriots. New England put an old-fashioned beatdown on the Bears in the first half on Sunday's game.
The Patriots scored five times in the second quarter to take a 33-0 lead over the Bears. In the first half, Tom Brady threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59-yard connection with Deion Branch on the last play of the half. Danny Woodhead added a rushing touchdown, and Shayne Graham helped out with two field goals. The Patriots also scored a defensive touchdown, when Johnny Knox fumbled a Jay Cutler pass. The Patriots Gary Guyton returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
The Bears, on the other hand, looked befuddled by the bad weather. The defense, usually so good at creating turnovers, had three almost interceptions. Two of those came back to haunt the Bears, as the Pats scored on the next play. The offense was barely on the field, and when they were, they were making mistakes. Cutler was sacked twice and gave up a fumble. Forte ran for just 13 yards on seven attempts.
The game still seemed in reach after the first quarter. After the Bears forced New England three-and-out in the first series, Pats QB Tom Brady picked apart the Bears defense. He methodically moved the ball down the field with first down passes and help from running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis. The Bears came close to stopping the score. Urlacher tipped a pass that was nearly caught by Chris Harris, but the missed interception attempt came back to haunt the Bears on the next play. Brady hit tight end Rob Gronkowski for the score that put the Patriots ahead 7-0.
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