GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Chicago Bears were out of control Sunday: They needed to win in Arizona to avoid elimination and also would need some help to stay in the hunt for an NFC wild-card berth.
The Bears quickly got busy taking care of business against the Cardinals.
Charles Tillman's 10-yard interception return of a Ryan Lindley pass for a touchdown at the 12:39 mark of the third quarter boosted the Bears' lead to 28-6. It was Tillman's third pick-6 of the season and eighth of his career. It also was the Bears' eighth interception return of the season, tying them with the 1961 San Diego Chargers for second-most in NFL history, one behind the 1998 Seattle Seahawks.
It was the 33rd career interceptions for Tillman, breaking a tie with Donnell Woolford for the career high for Bears cornerbacks.
Another concern for the Bears was the health of running back Matt Forte, who hobbled off the field early in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury and was taken to the locker room.
Jay Cutler hit Brandon Marshall on an 11-yard touchdown pass to give the Bears a 21-6 lead with 19 seconds left in the first half, and that was the score at intermission. The six-play, 80-yard drive included a 35-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery.
Cardinals kicker Jay Feeley's second field goal, this one from 35 yards out, cut the Bears' lead to 14-6 with 2:18 to play in the half. The field goal was set up by a Bears' special teams miscue. Arizona's punt bounced off of D.J., Moore with 5:05 left in the half and the muff was recovered by the Cardinals' Michael Adams at the Bears' 36.
Arizona had unsuccessfully faked a field-goal attempt earlier in the quarter.
Bears safety Chris Conte sustained a hamstring injury in the second quarter and was ruled out for the game.
Forte's 4-yard touchdown run put the Bears ahead 14-3 with 13:12 left in the second quarter. Cutler's first completion of the day went to Marshall for 30 yards to the Arizona 4 and Forte ran it in.
Feeley hit a 49-yard field goal to cut the Bears' lead to 7-3 with 37 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Bears started well, getting an early touchdown from their defense. They took a 7-0 lead with 8:53 left in the first quarter when Cardinals running back Beanie Wells lost his footing after taking the handoff near the goal line and then fumbling. The ball was recovered in the end zone by Zack Bowman for the Chicago score.
Cutler hit 6 of 16 passes in the first half for 106 yards and a touchdown. Marshall had three catches for 48 yards and Forte carried the ball 11 times for 85 yards.
Earlier, the Minnesota Vikings pulled off a significant road upset, beating the Houston Texans 23-6 at Reliant Stadium to improve to 9-6. The Vikings’ victory means the Bears (8-6) will be eliminated from the postseason race if they lose to the Cardinals. Entering Sunday, there were remote possibilities the Bears could make the playoffs at 9-7, but those options closed with the Vikings' win at Texas.
So, the Bears needed to beat the Cardinals and the Detroit Lions next Sunday at Ford Field in order to have a chance to reach the postseason and avoid becoming the first team since the 1996 Washington Redskins to start a season 7-1 and not make the playoffs.
When the day began Sunday, the Bears still held out hope of possibly earning a fifth or sixth seed in the NFC postseason tournament, depending on the outcome of games involving the Vikings, Redskins, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, all of whom had 8-6 records along with the Bears, and the Seattle Seahawks (9-5), who hosted San Francisco on Sunday night. The Redskins beat the Eagles 27-20, while the Cowboys lost to the New Orleans Saints 34-31 in overtime.
“We have to win out, we realize that,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “We know the road that we have to go to achieve our goal and that’s on the road, a long road trip you could say. None of that matters, though, without getting a win this week.”
fmitchell@tribune.com
Twitter@kicker34
3rd quarter: Bears 28, Cardinals 6
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3rd quarter: Bears 28, Cardinals 6
