The Chicago Bears took their first lead of the game with 11 seconds to play on a touchdown pass from Kyle Orton to Rashied Davis. It turned out that score was one second too early.
The Atlanta Falcons emerged victorious by a score of 22-20 on a 48-yard Jason Elam field goal as time expired. But Elam’s game-winner was only the culmination of a game that featured multiple shocking twists and turns. And when the dust finally cleared, the Falcons had improved their record to 4-2, tied for first atop the NFC South.
“This ranks up with the top two or three [wins of my career] of all time,” said safety Lawyer Milloy. “It shows the direction that this team is going in.”
Orton’s pass to Davis capped off a surprising comeback for the road team. The Bears trailed 19-10 with 8:03 to play after a host of Falcons stopped Matt Forte on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line.
Right after that, the Bears defense forced the Falcons into a three-and-out. Robbie Gould pulled the Bears to within six with 4:05 to play, connecting on a field goal from 32-yards out.
Atlanta seemed to have iced the game on the ensuing drive. Jerious Norwood returned the kickoff 85 yards before being stopped on the Chicago 17. After three Michael Turner runs netted just two yards, Jason Elam took the field looking for his fifth field goal of the game. But the veteran missed wide left, keeping the Bears within one possession.
“I just didn’t hit it very good,” Elam said.
Elam’s miss set up what appeared to be the game-winning drive for Chicago. As the Bears marched down the field on a 12-play, 77-yard drive that ended with Davis’s 17-yard catch. Davis got Falcons corner Chris Houston to bite on an out route, then ran by him before Orton found him in the corner of the end zone.
But the game wasn’t over.
Harry Douglas returned a squib kick from Gould for ten yards to the Atlanta 44. With just six seconds to work with, the Falcons took a risk by trying to give Elam another chance. It worked perfectly.
Matt Ryan found Michael Jenkins on the sideline for a 26-yard gain. He got out of bounds with just one second to play, giving Elam a shot at redemption.
“Coach Mularkey made a great call,” said Jenkins. “We had a chance to see what we could get and set up a long field goal. The line gave Matt time, and he threw a great ball.”
Elam made the most of his opportunity, drilling a 48-yarder through the uprights as time expired.
“I’m just glad it went through,” he said.
The Falcons felt that the game never should have been so close. Atlanta moved the ball successfully, but had to resort to field goals of 29, 32, 41 and 48 yards from Elam.
“We moved the ball efficiently,” said Falcons head coach Mike Smith. “One of the things we have to work on is being more efficient in the red zone.”
The team did find the end zone once. Early in the fourth quarter, Ryan rolled out and found Roddy White at the pylon for a 3-yard touchdown pass. The score gave the Falcons a 19-10 lead.
That touchdown was one of many connections between the two. White finished the day with nine catches for 112 yards and a score. Meanwhile, Ryan finished with a career-high 301 yards on 22-of-30 passing.
Orton was also strong under center for Chicago, passing for 286 yards and a touchdown. Devin Hester was also key for the Bears’ offense, catching six passes for 87 yards.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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