Collins, Titans Remain Unbeaten With Victory Over Bears
Posted: 5:03 pm CST November 9, 2008
Chicago, IL -- (Sports Network) - Kerry Collins threw two touchdowns, and the Tennessee Titans remained the only undefeated team in the NFL with a 21-14 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.Collins went 30-for-41 with 289 yards, while Bo Scaife caught 10 passes for 78 yards and a score for the Titans (9-0), who have won 12 straight going back to last season. "We have some mistakes to correct before we play our next game," said Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher. "The greed mistakes are on us but we won a game when we didn't play well." LenDale White had just 14 yards but did score a touchdown, while Brandon Jones had eight catches for 82 yards for Tennessee, which snapped a three-game losing streak to Chicago. "Nobody thought we would be here cause we were supposed to finish last in our division," said White. "Jeff does a great job of coaching us. We didn't know we would be 9-0, but we knew we were better than people thought." Rex Grossman, starting in place of an injured Kyle Orton, went 20-for-37 with 173 yards, one touchdown, one interception and one rushing touchdown, while Matt Forte had 72 yards on 20 carries and seven catches for 54 yards and a score for the Bears (5-4), who had won their previous two games. "It's always tough when you lost a football game, especially a game like that," said Bears coach Lovie Smith. "You have to give the Titans quite a lot of the credit, all of the credit really." On their first drive of the second half, the Titans marched quickly down the field and took the lead on a 12-yard touchdown catch by Justin Gage from Collins for a 14-7 lead with 11:28 left in the third. The Tennessee defense stymied Chicago on its next three possession as it held the Bears to just 17 yards over those three touches. On a drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters, White made it a 21-7 game on a two-yard score less than three minutes into the final stanza. The Bears put together a drive on their ensuing possession as the team got into field goal range, but Robbie Gould's 48-yard attempt was blocked. After holding Tennessee to a three-and-out, Chicago made it a one-score game as Grossman punched the ball into the end zone from a yard out with under five minutes to play. The Bears' defense did its job and forced a punt from the Titans, but the Titans defense in turn stopped Chicago on fourth down and the Titans killed off the remainder of the clock. Tennessee went three-and-out on the first possession of the game and Chicago started with the ball at its own 25. The team needed 14 plays to get into the end zone and Grossman capped the drive with a five-yard score to Forte for a 7-0 lead with 7:06 left in the first. The Titans had a golden opportunity to score later in the first as Grossman was picked off deep in Chicago territory, but Ahmad Hall fumbled the ball on the one-yard line and the Bears recovered. The Titans, though, did tie the game in the second. With Chicago punting deep in its territory, Chris Carr returned it 29 yards to give his team the ball at the Chicago 22-yard line. Four plays later, Collins found Scaife in the end zone from 10 yards out to make it a 7-7 game with 8:39 left in the first half. "Field position hurt us all day," said Grossman. "But the Titans have a good defense. There were some plays to be made, but we did not make them." Tennessee ended the first half with the ball and tried a 49-yard field goal on the last play of the half, but Rob Bironas' attempt fell short and the score remained tied heading into the locker room. Game Notes Chicago plays in Green Bay next Sunday...Tennessee plays at Jacksonville next Sunday...Devin Hester had four catches for 54 yards for the Bears...Tennessee controlled the ball for 33:16 despite having just 20 yards on the ground...Chicago was just 3-for-14 on third down.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.











