Grossman’s late TD pass leads Bears past Raiders 17-6

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — With one perfect deep pass, Rex Grossman just might have won back his starting quarterback job and saved the Chicago Bears’ season.

Grossman replaced an injured Brian Griese and threw a 59-yard pass to Bernard Berrian for the go-ahead score with 3:11 remaining, leading the Bears to a 17-6 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

“It was unbelievable, something you can’t describe to someone who hasn’t been in that position,” Grossman said. “It’s a great feeling to come in and be able to pull one out.”

Sebastian Janikowski’s 52-yard field goal with 4:04 remaining gave Oakland (2-7) a 6-3 lead that looked as if it could be enough on a day when neither offense could move the ball.

Then Grossman, who had struggled in his first game since Sept. 23, turned back into Good Rex, the quarterback who helped lead the Bears (4-5) to the Super Bowl last season instead of the one whose turnovers cost him his job earlier this season.

After the Bears almost botched the kickoff, Grossman hit Cedric Benson on an 11-yard pass over the middle.

On the next play, Berrian sprinted past Chris Carr, caught the deep pass in stride and went into the end zone with the go-ahead score.

“We were trying to get the right matchup all game, and we couldn’t get it, and then it happened,” Berrian said. “At that time of the game, we needed anything to happen, a long run or a long play.”

The Bears took advantage of man coverage by a backup cornerback forced into a starting role because of injuries to Nnamdi Asomugha and Fabian Washington. Carr was solid for almost the entire game, with six tackles and one pass breakup, but got beat on the one play that mattered most.

“They did a very good job of selling me on the go route,” Carr said. “He gave me a little hesitation and I wasn’t running as fast as I should have been running. He got a step on me. Once he got a step on me, he got me.”

Grossman, who had been 5-for-12 for 72 yards before the winning drive, leaped into teammate John Tait’s arms and flashed a smile that hadn’t been seen in a long while.

Grossman was benched after throwing six interceptions and only one touchdown pass in Chicago’s first three games. Combined with his 23 interceptions in 19 games last season, the Bears had grown tired of all of Grossman’s mistakes and decided to go with the veteran Griese.