Bucs/NFL

Bears stay unbeaten with ease

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 2, 2006

CHICAGO - Rex Grossman threw scoring passes to Muhsin Muhammad and Bernard Berrian to help the Bears rout the Seahawks 37-6 on Sunday in the only NFL game matching unbeaten teams.

Chicago also got its running game back, with Thomas Jones running for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears went in averaging just 2.7 yards a carry in their first three games.

Robbie Gould added two field goals and Ricky Manning Jr. picked off two passes for the Bears, who are 4-0 for the first time since 1991. Seattle (3-1), the defending NFC champion, was without reigning NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, who has a cracked bone in his left foot.

Grossman, a former Florida standout, had another impressive performance for Chicago. He was 17-of-31 for 232 yards.

The Bears defense has yet to allow a passing touchdown this season and has yielded one touchdown overall after Seattle managed just two field goals. The Bears sacked Matt Hasselbeck twice in the first three quarters.

Alexander had appeared in all 104 of Seattle's games, including five in the playoffs, since the team selected him in the first round of the 2000 draft.

Alexander contemplated playing against the Bears, telling coach Mike Holmgren he felt healthy enough to play after two days of prayer. But tests revealed the bone had not healed.

In Alexander's place, Maurice Morris made his fourth career start at running back and did little, gaining 38 yards on 12 carries.

With Chicago trailing 3-0, Grossman keyed a 69-yard drive by completing 6 of 7 passes for 57 yards and finding Muhammad in the end zone for a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

On Chicago's next possession, Berrian beat Seattle cornerback Kelly Herndon for a 46-yard catch. The Bears got inside Seattle's 20-yard line, but had to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Gould in the second.

[Last modified October 2, 2006, 02:18:52]