NFL Week 1: Chicago Bears 30, Atlanta Falcons 12

Looking at the final score, you would have thought that the Falcons struggled offensively in terms of yardage.

However, Matt Ryan passed for 319 yards. Michael Turner rushed for 100 yards himself.

The reason that the yardage didn't lead to big numbers on the final score was because the Bears played great defense when it was needed. They sacked the quarterback and forced turnovers.

Chicago sacked Ryan five times and forced three turnovers, two of which occurred in Bears territory. Brian Urlacher intercepted a rollout pass in the first quarter; off that turnover, the Bears scored a touchdown on a 56-yard screen pass to Matt Forte.

Then Julius Peppers recovered a Michael Turner fumble. That turnover didn't lead to any Bears points, but after a punt that landed inside the Falcons' five-yard line, it led to some good field position for Chicago.

The Bears used that field position to get a 23-yard field goal for Robbie Gould.

This is how Chicago's defense has functioned over the past six years. They may give up a few yards, but not without a heavy price.

Offensively, Chicago did not look like your atypical grind-it-out Bears team. While Jay Cutler completed 22-of-32 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns, Forte rushed for only 68 yards on 16 carries.

In total, the Bears rushed for 88 yards.

Overall, I am impressed by the way the Bears played against a supposedly-superior Falcons team. I'm just a little worried that their lack of a dominating running game and their defense's dependence on takeaways might be costly in the long run.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

C -- Robbie Gould 41 field goal

A -- Matt Bryant 48 field goal

C -- Matt Forte 56 pass from Jay Cutler (Gould PAT)

Second Quarter

C -- Gould 23 field goal

C -- Gould 26 field goal

Third Quarter

A -- Bryant 25 field goal

C -- Matt Spaeth 1 pass from Cutler (Gould PAT)

C -- Brian Urlacher 12 fumble return (Gould PAT)

Fourth Quarter

A -- Kroy Biermann 50 interception return (pass failed)