Bears' response a giant message
After weathering sluggish first half, team takes N.Y. by storm to reassert NFC control
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For, oh, about the first 29 minutes, you had to believe the locals maybe were on to something.
They cried all week that the Bears had yet to beat anyone of respectability in winning seven of their first eight games and were a product of a weak schedule waiting to be exposed, rather than a serious contender atop the NFC.
Turnovers, big plays and the kind of gaffes that did in the Bears a week ago against Miami looked like they were going to sink them again.
Then you saw the kind of resiliency that teams meant to be in the mix two months from now possess. A ground game that looked stuck in the cement here, like Jimmy Hoffa is rumored to be, came to life.
A passing game that was supposed to struggle minus its top receiver -- Bernard Berrian is out with injured ribs -- came up with big plays. And any misdeeds Devin Hester had, well, they were wiped out, and he now stands next to teammate Nathan Vasher in the NFL record book.
The Bears displayed a little bit of everything in thumping injury-plagued New York 38-20 before 78,641 soaked onlookers at Giants Stadium.
The game was the first to go to prime time in the new flexible scheduling system designed to give NBC a riveting contest. The nation saw why the Bears are now 8-1 with a two-game lead in the NFC and a four-game lead in the North, meaning the magic number to clinch is four with seven left.
After Rex Grossman threw an interception on his second pass, those who have been clamoring for a quarterback controversy had to be in a frenzy.
It set up Brandon Jacobs for a one-yard touchdown plunge, and it looked like the Bears were picking up where they left off last week, falling behind 13-3 and allowing Tiki Barber to rumble for 141 yards.
"It couldn't have started worse for Rex," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "But I'm not surprised how he handled it. I'm not worried about his mental toughness. He just hung in there."
Hung in to throw three touchdown passes and run his record in 16 regular-season starts to 12-4.
"We weathered the storm," Grossman said, "and got into a rhythm and played well. It was fun to see us bounce back from some adversity."
The stunning blow that will make for water-cooler conversation nationwide came early in the fourth quarter, when Giants coach Tom Coughlin made the ill-fated decision to send kicker Jay Feely out to try a 52-yard field goal in poor conditions. He didn't come close.
And as Vasher did a year ago against San Francisco, Hester fielded the punt -- and then the rookie froze for two seconds, lulling the Giants to sleep before breaking down the right sideline and picking up a major block from Hunter Hillenmeyer.
He went untouched for 108 yards and a touchdown that put the Bears ahead 31-20. When Thomas Jones scored on a two-yard run minutes later, the blowout was on -- and now the locals will know what to expect when the Bears return here Sunday to face the Jets (5-4), a surprise winner at New England.
Jones rushed for 113 yards on 30 carries, and Muhsin Muhammad had 123 receiving yards -- the first time the Bears have had such a duo since 2003. Mark Bradley, filling in for Berrian, had 79 yards on four catches -- none bigger than a 29-yard touchdown catch with 35 seconds left in the first half after Jones broke loose for 26 yards earlier in the drive on a third-and-22 draw. Muhammad and Desmond Clark caught TD passes, and the Bears showed at least the NFC they are for real.
"We proved we could come up here and beat the Giants," said defensive end Alex Brown, who sacked Eli Manning twice and forced two fumbles. "As far as who is the best in the NFC, we already felt like we were."
bbiggs@suntimes.com