Bears 19, Lions 14
Jay Cutler threw two touchdown passes to Matt Forte and the Chicago Bears overcame four turnovers and a failure to convert a first-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter to defeat the Detroit Lions 19-14 in the season opener at Soldier Field on Sunday.
Cutler engineered a six-play, 56-yard scoring drive in 1:49 in the fourth quarter that was capped by a 28-yard TD pass to Forte down the left sideline with 1:40 remaining. Forte took a swing pass and raced 89 yards down the right sideline in the first half to cut the Lions lead to 14-10.
Cutler completed 23-of-35 passes, was intercepted once and sacked three times for the Bears, who outgained the Lions, 463-168.
Rookie Jahvid Best scored on TD runs of 7 and 4 yards in the first half as Detroit built a 14-3 lead.
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford injured his right shoulder late in the first half after being sacked by Bears defensive end Julius Peppers. He was 11-of-15 for 83 yards.
Shaun Hill played the second half and completed 9-of-19 passes for 88 yards. He drove Detroit to the Chicago 25 in the waning seconds before the drive stalled. Hill threw an apparent TD pass to Calvin Johnson with under 30 seconds remaining, but it was confirmed an incompletion by the replay referee.