American Football:The Chicago Bears maintained their unbeaten record in the NFL as they recovered from a 20-point deficit to beat the Arizona Cardinals last night.
Manhandled and outplayed throughout the game, the Bears scored two defensive touchdowns and Devin Hester returned an 82-yard punt for the winning score with 2:58 to play as they pulled off an improbable 24-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Neil Rackers had a chance to restore the Cardinals' lead but he missed left on a 40-yard field goal attempt with 53 seconds remaining.
By barely averting the stunning upset, the Bears became the first NFL team to reach 6-0, although the manner in which they won should quiet talk about their chances of completing an unbeaten season.
The Cardinals tumbled to their fifth consecutive defeat despite dominating the game on both sides of the ball, holding the Bears without an offensive touchdown and forcing five turnovers by quarterback Rex Grossman.
Arizona held a 23-3 lead in the waning moments of the third quarter, but Chicago rallied behind its vaunted defense.
Bears defensive end Mark Anderson hammered rookie quarterback Matt Leinart from behind, forcing a fumble that Mike Brown scooped up at the 3 and carried into the end zone to cut the deficit to 23-10 with two seconds left in the period.
The Bears had outscored their opponents in their previous five games by 120 points but they still appeared to be headed for their first defeat until linebacker Brian Urlacher jarred the ball loose from running back Edgerrin James, and Charles Tillman returned the fumble 40 yards to cut Arizona's lead to 23-17 with exactly 5:00 left.
The Cardinals could manage just one first down before having to punt the ball back to the Bears and Hester, a rookie from Miami, brought it back for his second touchdown of the season, tying a team record set by Dennis McKinnon in 1987.
Leinart, the rookie from USC who was making his second career start, moved the Cardinals down the field and in position for the victory, but Rackers missed his second straight game-winning attempt, having failed on a 51-yard try last week against Kansas City.
Leinart finished 24-for-42 for 232 yards and two touchdowns, including first-quarter scoring passes to Bryant Johnson and Anquan Boldin.