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Chicago Defense Turns Tables On Indianapolis

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 8, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS - The Chicago Bears found their winning formula still works.

Rookie running back Matt Forte ran for 123 yards and one touchdown in his NFL debut, and Kyle Orton committed no turnovers as the Bears surprised the Indianapolis Colts 29-13 at the first regular-season game played at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Two-time league MVP Peyton Manning didn't look like himself in his first game action since having surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee in mid-July.

And the loss snapped the Colts' 21-game winning streak in September and October, the longest streak since the Green Bay Packers won 23 straight pre-November games from 1928-32.

The Colts finally got in the end zone early in the third quarter when Manning's 6-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne cut Chicago's lead to 15-13. Manning went 5-for-6 for 40 yards on the possession.

The Colts had a chance to go for the lead after forcing Chicago to punt. On the second play of the possession, Bears defensive back Charles Tillman stripped the ball from receiver Marvin Harrison, and Lance Briggs recovered it and ran it back 21 yards for a touchdown that made it 22-13.

In a rematch of the 2007 Super Bowl, won 29-17 by Indianapolis, Adam Vinatieri made a 39-yard field goal with 5:56 left in the first quarter to stake the Colts to a 3-0 advantage.

Forte's 50-yard touchdown run less than a minute later gave the Bears a 7-3 lead. He finished the opening quarter with 79 yards on seven carries.

Vinatieri's second field goal, a 34-yarder, trimmed Chicago's lead to 7-6 early in the second quarter. Bears kicker Robbie Gould made a 41-yard field goal to make it 10-6.

Chicago defensive end Adewale Ogunleye tackled Indianapolis running back Joseph Addai at the Colts' goal line for a safety. Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy challenged the call, but the ruling stood, and gave Chicago a 12-6 lead.

After the Bears got the free kick, a 29-yard pass from Orton to tight end Greg Olsen on a third-and-15 set up Gould's 25-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to push the lead to 15-6. Forte had 100 yards on 14 carries at halftime.

The Colts, who had played home games at the RCA Dome since 1984, opened the retractable roof at the new stadium hours before kickoff. That made this the first NFL game played in Indianapolis with weather as a factor.

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