Bears 30, Falcons 12
Matt Forte racked up 158 total yards and Brian Urlacher scored a defensive touchdown and set up another as the Chicago Bears cruised to a 30-12 victory over the visiting Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Jay Cutler passed for 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns to improve to 23-0 in his career when his quarterback rating is over 100.
Urlacher set up the lone touchdown of the first half when he picked off Matt Ryan’s pass at Chicago’s 29-yard line. Cutler hit Johnny Knox with a 25-yard pass and then set up a screen to Forte, who went 56 yards for a score.
Urlacher struck again in the third quarter when he broke through the line and sacked Ryan, knocking the ball loose. The perennial Pro Bowler scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 12 yards for another touchdown to make it 30-6.
Ryan ended up with 319 yards on 31 of 47 passing but could not find the end zone. Atlanta rookie receiver Julio Jones made five catches for 71 yards in his first game and Roddy White caught eight balls for 61 yards.
The Falcons, who had the NFC's best record at 13-3 in 2010, finally scored a touchdown with 10:23 left in the game when defensive end Kroy Biermann intercepted Cutler and returned it 50 yards. A two-point conversion failed.