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Just think, we almost had a replay of last week's Bears/Niners tilt, only reversed.
The Bears started out hot with Ryan Mundy picking up his first career touchdown on a Geno Smith interception, followed nearly immediately by the Jets muffing a punt return and the Bears driving that in for a touchdown to quickly go up 14-0. The Jets scored a field goal, and after Robbie Gould added his own to make it 17-3, the Jets added a field goal and a touchdown to Jeremy Kerley, and the game went to the half 17-13.
Martellus Bennett caught a touchdown on the first offensive drive of the second half to extend the lead to 24-13, but the Jets answered right back with two field goals, closing the gap to 24-19. The Bears ran a 6 minute, 42 second drive when they needed to kill some time and get points, and they did so to push the gap back to eight. They withstood a furious Jets assault ending with a pass broken up by Brock Vereen.
Vereen was in the game because, once again, the story of the week was injuries, this time to the safety corps. Chris Conte (shoulder), Ryan Mundy (left arm and shoulder), and Danny McCray (leg) all left the game, though McCray returned. Brandon Marshall also aggravated his ankle, and Tony Fiammetta left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury.
We'll have Notes for you in the morning covering a sloppy, sloppy game on both sides, but at least the Bears pulled it out.
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Bears Quick Stats:
Jay Cutler: 23/38, 225 yards, 2 TD - 94.7 Passer Rating; 5 carries, 14 yards
Matt Forte: 13 carries, 33 yards; 6 receptions, 43 yards
Alshon Jeffery: 8 receptions, 105 yards; 2 carries, 13 yards
Martellus Bennett: 5 receptions, 54 yards, 2 TDs
Brandon Marshall: 1 reception, 6 yards
Jets Quick Stats:
Geno Smith: 26/43, 316 yards, TD, 2 INT - 71.5 Passer Rating; 3 carries, 20 yards
Chris Ivory: 10 carries, 44 yards; 4 receptions, 52 yards
Chris Johnson: 10 carries, 34 yards
Jeremy Kerley: 7 receptions, 81 yards, TD