BALTIMORE — Jordan Howard willed the Bears to an overtime win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in September, and he did the same thing on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
In a sloppy game that saw the Bears blow second half leads of 14 and 11 points to send things careening into overtime, Howard’s 53-yard run with just over five minutes left in overtime helped set up Connor Barth’s game-winning 40-yard field goal. The Bears were backed up deep in their own territory without much semblance of offensive success going their way, but Howard’s outstanding second-effort run was the spark this offense needed.
Mitchell Trubisky avoided pressure and found Kendall Wright for an excellent 18-yard catch, moving the Bears into field goal range. After a few ineffective plays, Barth connected ….
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It was a game the Bears looked like they should’ve won comfortably, but a pair of return touchdowns — one by Bobby Rainey on a kickoff, one by Michael Campanaro on a punt — got Baltimore back in the game. Rainey’s return came with the Bears up 17-3, and while replays showed Josh Bellamy might’ve tackled him, it wasn’t called that way.
That cut the Bears’ lead to 17-10. The Bears then fumbled on their next three possessions, losing two (charged to Tarik Cohen and Mitchell Trubisky) with the other being a high snap from Cody Whitehair that sailed over Trubisky’s head. Baltimore managed a field goal off Cohen’s fumble to cut the score to 17-13.
After Trubisky’s fumble, Kyle Fuller — who was outstanding on Sunday, it should be noted — broke up a pass intended for Chris Moore, and the ball fell into the waiting arms of Adrian Amos, who returned it for a touchdown (it was Amos’ first career interception).
It looked like the Bears were going to find a way to lose, though, after Campanaro’s 77-yard punt return and the Ravens’ successful two-point conversion. But thanks to that one big effort from Howard — the Bears’ best offensive player — the game wound up in the win column.