Bears Score Big in Closing Minutes For Win, Rams Fall To Packers

Jay Cutler spent the afternoon dodging Chiefs defenders behind a patchwork offensive line, trying to find somewhere to throw the ball without his top two wide receivers.It just made his fourth-quarter comeback even more impressive.

Cutler led the Bears to two touchdowns in the closing minutes Sunday, the second an alert toss to Matt Forte with 18 seconds remaining, giving Chicago an 18-17 comeback win after Kansas City lost star running back Jamaal Charles to a potentially season-ending knee injury.

"I knew we needed to make some plays in the fourth quarter. I trust the guys around me," said Cutler, who was making his second start after a hamstring injury. "I know all I've got to do is get the ball out to them and they'll do most of the hard work."

Playing without wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal because of injuries, along with three starting offensive linemen, the Bears (2-3) trailed 17-3 early in the third quarter.

That's when Charles went down while trying to make a cut, his right knee twisting at an ugly angle. The preliminary diagnosis was a torn ACL and Charles will have an MRI on Monday.

With him out, the Bears quickly seized the momentum. After Robbie Gould's second field goal got them going, Cutler led an 88-yard drive that he capped with a 22-yard pass to Marquess Wilson with 3:05 left. The 2-point conversion came up short, but the Bears defense responded by forcing a quick three-and-out.

With help from a pass interference call on Chiefs rookie Marcus Peters, the Bears quickly moved down the field. That's when Cutler took a snap from the shotgun, dropped the ball, picked it up and spotted Forte running past safety Husain Abdullah in the end zone for the go-ahead score.

The Chiefs (1-4) tried a 66-yard field goal that came up short as time expired.

Packers 24, Rams 10

Aaron Rodgers' remarkable run of mistake-free football at home is over. Green Bay, though, is still perfect this season. A relentless defense helped the Packers overcome an unusually average day from their MVP quarterback.

Rodgers threw for two touchdowns and 241 yards, and the defense had three sacks and four interceptions to hold off the St. Louis Rams for a 24-10 victory on Sunday.

"Good team win today, start with the defense," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I thought they were clearly the key to our victory."

Rodgers was 19-of-30 with long scoring strikes to receivers Ty Montgomery and James Jones for the Packers (5-0). Since becoming the starting quarterback in 2008, Rodgers has 31 touchdown passes of at least 50 yards, the most in the NFL over that span.

But NFL-record streaks of 587 pass attempts and 49 touchdown passes at home without an interception for Rodgers ended in the first quarter on linebacker James Laurinaitis' diving pick of a tipped ball for the Rams (2-3).

Rodgers threw another interception in the second quarter before losing a fumble in the third on a sack.

Colts 27, Texans 20

Matt Hasselbeck and Andre Johnson showed Thursday night that sometimes old guys can shine in what is certainly a young man's league.

Johnson, 34, caught two touchdown passes from Hasselbeck, 40, including a 2-yard score in the fourth quarter, to help the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans 27-20.

"You get over the age of 30, they kind of count you out," Johnson said. "But we proved to people that we could still play."

Released by Houston in March after 12 seasons with the team, Johnson had six catches for 77 yards. The Colts (3-2) extended their AFC South winning streak to an NFL-record 16 games.

Hasselbeck was filling in for Andrew Luck, who missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury. Hasselbeck's performance was even more impressive given the fact that he was battling a bacterial infection that hospitalized him this week. He started feeling ill just before halftime Sunday in a victory over Jacksonville and didn't start feeling better until Thursday night.

Sunday, October 11 Scoreboard

Chicago 18, Kansas City 17

Cincinnati 27, Seattle 24 (OT)

Atlanta 25, Washington 19 (OT)

Tampa Bay 38, Jacksonville 31

Philadelphia 39, New Orleans 17

Cleveland 33, Baltimore 30 (OT)

Green Bay 24, St. Louis 10

Buffalo 14, Tennessee 13

Arizona 42, Detroit 17

New England 30, Dallas 6

Denver 16, Oakland 10

New York Giants 30, San Francisco 27

Monday, October 12 Schedule (Time Central)

Pittsburgh at San Diego, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 15 Schedule (Time Central)

Atlanta at New Orleans, 7:25 p.m.

Sunday, October 18 Schedule (All Times Central)

Washington at New York, noon

Arizon at Pittsburgh, noon

Kansas City at Minnesota, noon

Cincinnati at Buffalo, noon

Chicago at Detroit, noon

Denver at Cleveland, noon

Houston at Jacksonville, noon

Miami at Tennessee, noon

Carolina at Seattle, 3:05 p.m.

San Diego at Green Bay, 3:25 p.m.

Baltimore at San Francisco, 3:25 p.m.

New England at Indianapolis, 7:30 p.m.