The Bears Den: September 09, 2013 - Week 1 news and notes

Bears rally for two TDs to stun Bengals in opener - Larry Mayer: The Bears kicked off the Marc Trestman era by rallying from a 21-10 second-half deficit to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 24-21 in Sunday’s season opener at Soldier Field.

Tillman, Jennings continue to play takeaway in stirring win - Larry Mayer: Picking up where they left off last year, Pro Bowl CBs Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings combined to generate all three Bears takeaways.

Game notes - Larry Mayer: Cutler makes plays with legs to lift Bears; Mills shows composure; Trestman only fourth Bears HC to win first game. Martellus Bennett rebounds from drop with impressive TD; Gould sets new franchise record.

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Chicago Bears 24, Cincinnati Bengals 21

Larry Mayer's Game Blog - Larry Mayer's pre-game Q&A and in-game commentary from Bears-Bengals. Box score & game stats.

Cutler's late touchdown to Marshall leads Bears past Bengals - Game report; includes [Video] highlights from NFL.com.

Rapid Reaction - Michael C. Wright with some quick thoughts in the aftermath of the Bears' win. Locker room buzz.

Bears force turnovers, beat Bengals - Kevin Patra: Led by Peanut Tillman, the Bears' defense turned over Andy Dalton and the Bengals three times en route to a 24-21 victory in the season opener.

Bears earn 24-21 comeback win over Bengals in opener - Patrick Finley: Trestman describes his decision to go for it on 4th down as "a game-defining moment."

Photos from (Associated Press); Blackhawks visit Bears; photos from the Herald and the Tribune.

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More game analysis

Much is different for Bears in familiar victory - Barry Rozner: So much about the Bears’ season-opening win over Cincinnati looked like victories we’ve seen in the past, but Bears players tell a much different story.

Bears found a way to win - Hub Arkush: In a game most teams would have lost against a quality opponent, the Bears found a way to win. That suggests this may have been the start of something good.

Trestman starts slow, goes gung-ho, now 1-0 - Rick Morrissey: The first half was reminiscent of Lovie's Bears, but then something nice happened for the Bears via the confident decision-making of Trestman and the feet of Jay Cutler.

Bears get better when they had to - Steve Rosenbloom: The Bengals’ impossibly stupid and undisciplined play helped, sure, but the Bears put them in that position. That’s a big thing. The Bears were opportunistic and smart.

Game review - Dan Durkin's rapid reaction to a gutsy performance by the Bears to get to 1-0 and win the first game of the Marc Trestman-era.

Trestman starts slow, goes gung-ho, now 1-0 - Rick Morrissey: The first half was reminiscent of Lovie's Bears, but then something nice happened for the Bears via the confident decision-making of Trestman and the feet of Jay Cutler.

[Video] Jeff Dickerson & Michael C. Wright - Chunky and Softly-Spoken break down the Bears' win against the Bengals and the first look at Marc Trestman's offense.

Game review - James Neveau (hasn't Grizzly Details improved a hundredfold since he replaced Maggie Hendricks?) with a deeper look at the Bears' 24-21 victory over the Bengals.

Game notes - Dan Wiederer: Memorable first catch as a Bear for Martellus Bennett; Gould's franchise-record FG; more notes from the game. More game notes.

Game notes - Adam Hoge: Briggs gives Trestman game ball; Bengals melt down; Tillman's up-and-down day; more game notes.

Game review - Jeff Dickerson's 5 things we learned vs. the Bengals.

[Video] Game review - Tom Waddle breaks down the Bears' week 1 win.

[Video] Game review - PGL with their initial thoughts on the win.

Bears quotes - Chicago Bears quotes after Sunday's 24-21 win over the Bengals.

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Offense

Martellus Bennett looking to be right end for Bears - Seth Gruen: Though he didn’t put up enormous numbers Saturday, the timing of his catches will force future opponents to account for him in the most crucial situations.

Balance, winning TD just what Marshall wanted - Mark Potash: Bears seemed to find a formula that strikes a balance between Marshall’s prolific production and the Bears’ quest to spread the ball around for the best chance to win.

Bears speaking an entirely new language - Mike Imrem: The Bears are speaking a new language these days, and by any other name it's called offense.

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Cutler

Armed with protection and a smart game plan, Cutler delivers - Adam Hoge: The players — most notably Jay Cutler — reflected the steadiness of their head coach when they were down 21-10 in the third quarter.

Cutler is sharp in crunch time - Michael C. Wright: After a slow first half in which Cutler completed 10 of 19 for 70 yards and a touchdown to Bennett, the QB picked up the production over the third and fourth quarters.

A little dirt doesn’t hurt Jay Cutler - Rick Telander: You’ll take a win any way you can, but most of all, it’s nice if you can do it with the same old QB you’ve had for years and from whom you’ve basically come to expect the worst.

Cutler gets new Bears offense rolling in second half - Bob LeGere: Just when doubts about the Bears' new offense under rookie coach Marc Trestman were beginning to creep in Sunday, Jay Cutler cranked up the attack.

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Offensive line

O-line keeps Cutler clean - Brad Biggs: With each new offense the Bears have rolled out since Cutler arrived in 2009, the propaganda has been the same: The scheme and/or the line will make Cutler better. Trestman set out to deliver, enabling Cutler to be the difference down the stretch.

Mills, Long play like veterans in Bears victory - Joe Aguilar: Jordan Mills, an NFL rookie playing in his first official pro game, made a veteran play. What a finish Sunday for a new starter, a 22-year-old who could be just starting a long, productive career.

Cutler 'proud' of his rookie linemen - Scott Krinch: Cutler bumping Webb irked some, but he had to pick himself off the turf seven times in that 2012 game against the Packers. It was something he didn't have to worry about on Sunday after his O-line's dominance.

Rookie linemen answer call on key 4th-down play - Rich Campbell: Kyle Long, Jordan Mills surprised by coach Marc Trestman's 4th-and-inches choice but come through.

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Trestman

Trestman era opens with a victory - Rich Campbell: Trestman exuded confidence with the outcome in the balance when he kept his offense on the field to attempt to convert fourth-and-inches from the Bengals' 27.

Put to test, Trestman responds - Dan Bernstein: Trestman deflected the credit to nominal OC Aaron Kromer after the game, but that’s the head coach’s voice in Cutler’s helmet, and the head coach’s neck on the line. Nobody knows that better than Trestman after his time as such an apprentice.

Bears players applaud Trestman's gutsy decisions - David Haugh: Marc Trestman gains players' faith with gutsy play-calling with the season opener on the line.

Following the blueprint - Jon Greenberg: Bears follow Marc Trestman's blueprint in notching coach's first NFL win.

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Defense, special teams

Bears defense hunkers down on Andy Dalton in second half - Adam L. Jahns: The Bengals’ game plan of three-step drops by Dalton and quick, short routes admittedly frustrated the Bears. But’s going to take more to beat them, and everyone knows they can play better.

Bears' defense stops Dalton when it counts - Michael C. Wright: Henry Melton admitted to feeling frustrated Sunday about how Andy Dalton seemed to tee off on Chicago’s defense, but he knew patience would eventually pay dividends.

Up-and-down day for Tillman - Dan Wiederer: Pair of takeaways helps offset Charles Tillman's problems covering Bengals star A.J. Green

Bengals’ A.J. Green on Tillman: ‘One of the best I’ve went up against’ - Seth Gruen: Tillman is best known for his ability to create turnovers, but his value to the team was most apparent during the defensive series he missed, in which A.J. Green had two receptions for 66 yards, and a TD.

Bears took 'greatness' out of A.J. Green when it counted - Scott Krinch: The Bears next two opponents don't have a wideout the caliber of 'Megatron,' but it was a good test for when they face Johnson and the Lions at Ford Field in three weeks.

Gould hits franchise-record 58-yard field goal - Adam L. Jahns: Gould surpassed the 57-yarder he made on Dec. 11, 2011 in Denver; the previous long at Soldier Field was a 55-yard field goal by Kevin Butler on Oct. 25, 1993 against the Vikings.

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Game grades

Game grades - Patrick Finley with whose stock is rising/falling after week 1.

Game grades - Mark Potash with a delightful little slideshow.

Game grades - Dan Wiederer: Marshall too hot, Peppers too cold, Forte just right.

Game grades - Jeff Dickerson's report card.

Postgame Live - The PGL crew make their picks for their Monster player of the game.

Moon Mullin's grades by position group: QB - WR - RB - OL - DL - LB - DB - ST - coaching.

More from Windy City Gridiron:

• Bears Vs. Bengals: Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down
• Final Score: Chicago Bears vs Cincinnati Bengals- Bears win 24-21
• Chicago Bears vs Cincinnati Bengals: Game time, TV schedule, online streaming and more
• 2013 Stats over/under: The offense
• WCG Predicts the 2013 NFL Season

David Taylor's guest video week commemorates his annual Bears-Vikings bet with our friendly visitor from the Twin Cities, Mr Rence.