Gordon's three sacks help Bears hold off Falcons 31-23

Kyler Gordon had three sacks and the Chicago Bears built a 24-point lead before holding off the Atlanta Falcons 31-23 on Sunday, October 18, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Gordon also made four tackles as Atlanta was sacked five times. The Falcons ran 45 plays to Chicago's 71. Caleb Williams threw for 305 yards, and the Bears opened with a 13-play, 67-yard drive that took 6:39 and ended in a 14-yard touchdown pass.

Chicago scored again on its next series and led 14-0 after one quarter. Michael Penix Jr. cut it to 14-7 in the second quarter with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson, but Atlanta gave the gain back quickly. The Falcons turned the ball over on downs twice in the first three quarters.

A muffed punt at the Falcons 10 was recovered by Chicago with 1:52 left in the half, and the Bears scored 26 seconds later to lead 21-7. Roschon Johnson ran four yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter for 28-7, and a 50-yard field goal early in the fourth made it 31-7.

Atlanta answered with an 8-play, 91-yard drive that ended in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Pitts and a two-point conversion. After a Bears fumble, Penix hit Pitts again from five yards out, and another two-point try made it 31-23.

Penix finished with 225 yards and three touchdown passes, without an interception, and Dotson caught three passes for 87 yards and a score. The Falcons fumbled again with 3:34 left, and the comeback ran out of time.

Chicago outgained Atlanta 403 yards to 288 and committed one turnover to the Falcons' three. The Bears had a 52% success rate against 38% for Atlanta. Bijan Robinson had 61 of Atlanta's 63 rushing yards on nine carries.

The Bears improved to 4-2, and the Falcons fell to 2-4.

Up next

Bears: host the New England Patriots on Thursday, October 22.

Falcons: host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, October 25.