The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 27

The Modesto Bee NFLWEEK 10 MONDAY NOVEMBER 13 2006 C-5 Bears handle Giants in NY KATHY WILLENSTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS Chicago Bears running back Thomas Jones (20) leaps over Giants defenders for a fourth-quarter touchdown on Sunday Chicago quiets critics after losing to Miami By TOM CANAVAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS EAST RUTHERFORD NJ Just call the Chicago Bears the best team in the NFC and the New York Giants red-faced for falling asleep on a record-tying 108-yard missed field goal return by Devin Hester Hester fooled the Giants by standing in the back of the end zone for several seconds then ran down the right sideline on his knockout-blow return as the Bears rallied for a 38-20 victory over the injury-ravaged Giants in their NFC showdown Sunday night probably would have downed it if I saw defenders coming at said Hester who returned punts of 84 and 83 yards for TDs earlier this season seemed like all of them were walking off the field like it was over So I decided to take it out It surprised On Nov 13 2005 almost exactly a year ago the Nathan Vasher caught Joe missed 52-yard field-goal attempt in the back of the end zone on the final play of the first half and ran it back for a 108-yard TD return The play helped Chicago beat San Francisco 17-9 and now Hester shares the record for longest NFL play with his teammate Rex Grossman threw for three touchdowns and Thomas Jones scored on a short run as the Bears (8-1) rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit with 28 second-half points in ending a five-game winning streak by the Giants (6-3) Not only did the Bears win they answered the critics who surfaced last week after Miami handed Chicago its first loss in a turnover-marred game like our position right now one game after the first half" Bears coach Lovie Smith said is so much football left to go but we still like being undefeated in the NFC right now We like being undefeated on the road We like the position All we have done is put ourselves in position for the playoff Grossman had touchdown passes of 29 yards to Mark Bradley 10 yards to Muhsin Muhammad and 2 yards to Desmond Clark in leading the Bears to a 24-13 lead in the third quarter The Giants cut the gap on Brandon second touchdown run of the game late in the period But the game was blown AL BEHRMANTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS San Diego Marques Harris (92) Kris Dielman (68) Donnie Edwards (59) and Terrence Kiel (48) celebrate after they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 49-41 on Sunday in Cincinnati Chargers zap Bengals San 42-point second half erases 21 -point Cincy lead Bears 38 Giants 20 Chicago 3 7 14 14 38 NY Giants 7 6 7 0 20 First Quarter NY-Jacobs 1 run (Feety kick) 9:55 Chi-FG Gould 49 5:59 Second Quarter NY-FG Feely 46 13:25 NY-FG Feely 40 2:21 Chi-Bradley 29 pass from Grossman (Gould kick) :35 Third Quarter Chl-Muhammad 10 pass from Grossman (Gould kick) 8:20 Chi-Clark 2 pass from Grossman (Gould kick) 5:35 NY-Jacobs 8 run (Feely kick) 3:26 Fourth Quarter Smith said "I saw the blocks being set up and I guess he saw the same thing Whenever Hester has his hands on the ball with a little bit of space in between I feel pretty good about our Giants coach Tom Coughlin took responsibility for the decision to kick the field goal which would have cut the lead to a point very difficult to cover a field Coughlin said people who do it are not the kind of people who normally do it for Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce added that tough for a field-goal block team to stop a great returner like Hester hard when you have a speed guy alone and you have offensive linemen they have a chance to catch him" Pierce said The teams brought two of the top defenses into the nationally television matchup that was moved to prime time by the NFL as part of flexible scheduling package for Sunday night games New 13-10 halftime lead was courtesy of its defense and special teams with three scoring drives covering a total of 13 yards in winds gusting to 25 mph and intermittent showers Mathias Kiwanuka set up the Giants' touchdown with an interception on Chicago's first possession returning it 32 yards to the Bears 1 Jacobs scored almost untouched The Bears' defense answered the next time New York had the baU Charles Tillman one of the cor-nerbacks called by Giants receiver Plaxico Burress earlier in the week intercepted a pass intended for Burress and returned it 11 yards to New 45 Today! DAVID K0H17THE ASSOCIATED PRESS San LaDainian Tomlinson scored four TDs on Sunday TEAR By JOE KAY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CINCINNATI With one wobbly pass Philip Rivers completed one of the San Diego greatest comebacks the kind that defines a young quarterback And maybe a season as well shovel pass under pressure finished a 42-point second half by the Chargers on Sunday setting up a 49-41 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that left everyone at a loss for words Where to begin? involved in that game it was about like it was a cartoon or said LaDainian Tomlinson who tied his career with four touchdowns I wait until I get on the bus where I can think and wonder what happened today" what happened: San Diego overcame a 21-point halftime deficit matching the biggest comeback in franchise history behind a first-year starting quarterback who kept reminding his teammates that anything was possible From now on believe him The Chargers (7-2) played as poorly as they have all season allowing the Bengals (4-5) to score touchdowns on their first three possessions Cincinnati led 28-7 at halftime but Rivers was unconvinced he grows as a player tight end Antonio Gates said Chargers 49 Bengals 41 San Diego 0 7 21 21 49 Cincinnati 21 7 10 3 41 First Quarter Cin-JJohnson 3 run (Graham kick) 9:57 Cin-RJohnson 7 run (Graham kick) 1:36 Cin-C Johnson 51 pass from Palmer (Graham kick) :09 Second Quarter SD-Tomlinson 9 run (Kaeding kick) 5:27 Cin-Henry 7 pass from Palmer (Graham kick) :16 Third Quarter SD-Tomlinson 4 run (Kaeding kick) 10:47 SD-Floyd 46 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick) 9:08 Cin-FG Graham 21 6:27 SD-Manumaleuna 9 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick) 3:08 CJohnson 74 pass from Palmer (Graham kick) 2:50 Fourth Quarter SD-Tomlinson 2 run (Kaeding kick) 14:55 SD-Tomlinson 9 run (Kaeding kick) 14:40 Cin-FG Graham 44 7:48 Note: LaDainian Tomlinson is currently on pace to score 32 total touchdowns which would surpass Shaun Alexander's record of 28 set last year ball 8 yards deep in the end zone The rookie stood there for several seconds and then came out circling the right side and speeding down the sideline almost untouched for a clinching score was just waiting for him to do something like everyone Cleaning 44ouse? WE CAN HELP REDUCE THE CLUTTER INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Chicago Jones 30-113 Benson 6-7 Gross-man 3-(minus 2) New York Barber 19-141 Jacobs 2-9 Manning 1-0 PASSING-Chicago Grossman 18-30-1-246 New York EMannmq 14-32-2-121 RECEIVING-Chicago Muhammad 7-123 Bradley 4-79 Jones 3-10 Davis 1-26 McKie 1-7 Clark 1-2 Benson 1 -(minus 1) New York Burress 4-48 Tyree 4-38 Barber 3-16 Shiancoe 24 Shockey 1-15 MISSED FIELD New York Feely 33 (WR) 52 (SH) 2098471576 219 Poplar Oakdale Fall Specials No Hidden Costs Includes: Machine rotorsdrums Pack bearings where needed Semi-Metallic No extra charge Other parts labor extra Not valid with any other offer (Regular $39) Slate Certificate $825 Ask about prices or other service Mon-Fri 8am-5pm Sat 9am-3pm ARTS AUTOMOTIVE 3927 McHenry Modesto 578-5823 We just have to keep fighting and we might be able to scrape into the playoffs You never know 9-7 could get Cincinnati would have to win five of its last seven games just to have a winning record Given the current state of mind a long shot "There are a lot of unhappy Johnson said "There are reasons why we lost Rivers and Tomlinson lead the list Tomlinson ran for a pair of touchdowns in a 15-second span of the fourth quarter taking advantage of fumble on a sack He ran for 104 yards and had a team-high six catches for 54 more yards In the last five games Tomlinson has 15 Transfer your Movies Slides Videotapes To Get a FREE DVD Copy Conversion to DVD fcS12 Valueji Call Audio Video HEADQUARTERS 1295 2095790580 x117 Visit Our New Location Emerald Ave Ste Modesto doing a tremendous job leading this team He was on the sideline saying they were going to need to score more than 28 points to beat us What more could you ask for in a What came next was characteristic of the old Air Coryell days in San Diego when Dan Fouts led a light-it-up offense This time it was Rivers running the show in his best performance yet: 24-of-36 for 337 yards and three touchdowns panic" Rivers said point fingers like some teams around the league The Bengals (4-5) have been pointing fingers for weeks The defending AFC North champions fell three games behind Baltimore with their fifth loss in six games one that resulted in personal bests but not much else Receiver Chad Johnson set a club record with 260 yards and a pair of long touchdowns and Carson Palmer had the first 400-yard passing game of his career It matter because Cincinnati was helpless to stop the Chargers' two offensive stars in the second half not good" said Palmer who was 31-of-42 for 440 yards and three touchdowns a tough situation to be in FRIENDS BY COLLISION AND BODY REPAIRS MIRACLE AUTO MINTING A BOOT REPAIR WORK BOOTS MIRACLE CATALYZED ENAMEL Excellent high gloss oven-baked finish makes REGULAR your car look new again PRICE Many beautiful colors 299 PRICE YEAR WRITTEN GUARANTEE SAVE $30 NOW 269 95 18 MONTH WRITTEN GUARANTEE SAVE $50 2 YEAR WRITTEN GUARANTEE SAVE $100 SAT 9AM-2PM I WOLVERINE DUB SHOCKS cMMRr ricHKOlOor Waterproof 2563 M-F SAT 8-5 SUN 10-4 COMPANY INC Sign Quality Value Service 576 Warnerville Rd Oakdale last on Warnerville Rd ust off Albers RdS Yosemit Ave 209-847-8977 MIRACLE SUPREME MIRATHANE High quality oven-baked polyurethane tor a deeper high gloss finish with excellent durability Full service preparation REGULAR NOW and primer-sealer coat PRICE for a beautiful finish $44995 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING San Diego Tomlinson 22-104 Rivers 3-2 Turner 1-1 Cincinnati Johnson 18-85 CPerry 4-31 JJohnson 3-9 CJohnson 14) Palmer 2-minus 1) PASSING- Sen Diego Rivers 24-36-0-337 Cincinnati Palmer 31-42-0-440 RECEIVING San Diego Tomlinson 6-54 Floyd 5-109 Gales 5-69 McCardell 2-49 Manumaleuna 2-14 Neal 2-10 Jackson 1-18 Parker 1-14 Cincinnati CJohnson 11-260 Houshmandtadeh 7-88 Kelly 3-31 Watson 3-14 Perry 3-(mi-nus 1) Henry 2-18 Stewart 1-26 RJohnson 1-4 MISSED FIELD GOAL-Cincinnati Graham 51 (WL) ED MOBILE RV REPAIR Your Holiday RV Maintenance Inspection Special $17COO I (Reg $19999) REPAIRS PERFORMED AT ADDITIONAL COST I can also perform extended warranty and most factory warranty repairs (MM Include Of The MIRACLE ULTRATHANE Premium quality oven-baked ultrathane for a deeper high gloss REGULAR MAUI PRICE WlW 69995 finish with excellent durability Full service preparation and primer-sealer coat for a beautiful finish Checking The Operation Following i Refrigerator Water Heater Furnace Stove Roof AC LPG Leak Teit Battery Charging Syitem Inspect Roof Seals Fresh Water System Leak Test 480-6410 900 9TH ST MODESTO 527-2211 OFFER' Se Habla Espanol NORTH 9TH AT.