Moving forward in our look at the top 10 plays that most shaped the Chicago Bears' season, which culminated in a disappointing 5-11 campaign and forced the organization to clean house.
Here's No. 6:
Date: Oct. 5, 2014
Location: Bank of America Stadium
Game: Week 5 matchup at Carolina
The play: Matt Forte's fourth-quarter fumble
Why it mattered: The Carolina Panthers' Graham Gano had just kicked a 44-yard field goal with 4:29 left to play to tie the score at 24. On the next play from scrimmage, Forte took a handoff only to be stripped by cornerback Antoine Cason with defensive tackle Kawann Short recovering at the Chicago 23. Six plays later, Cam Newton zipped a 6-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen to win the game. The fumble was one of just two on the year for Forte, but this one proved to be a game-deciding miscue. You can watch the play here.
Jay Cutler's interception to Thomas DeCoud on an overthrow to Santonio Holmes with the Bears leading 24-21 actually led to Gano's game-tying field goal.
Quotable: "I was fighting for extra yards," Forte said. “You've just got to put two hands on it when you make contact. When I started fighting for extra yards, I needed to put two hands on it."
Here's the list so far in reverse order:
No. 10: QB Jay Cutler's interception to Kyle Williams.
No. 9: Brandon Marshall's one-handed touchdown catch against the 49ers.
No. 8: Cutler's interception to Sam Shields.
No. 7: Teddy Williams' early hit on punt returner Philly Brown and Brown's subsequent scoop and score.
































