The Bears traveled to East Rutherford, New Jersey to play the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, the Bears having won the last three meeting between the two since 2001, the last being a 38-34 win in 2010, and the Bears led the all-time series 7-3. When comparing the two teams, Brad Gagnon of CBSSports.com stated they are "complete opposites", with Marc Trestman being a pass-first coach, while Rex Ryan prefers running first; as a result, while the Bears were ranked higher in passer rating (9th to 25th) and QB rating against (4th to 26th), the Jets had the advantage in yards per carry (5th to 23rd) and yards per carry against (3rd to 28th). In the running game, Gagnon writes the Bears' 23rd-ranked rushing offense would have trouble against the third-ranked Jets run defense, which had allowed only 2.8 yards per carry. He adds that as a result, the Bears would be forced to throw - 71 percent of Chicago's offensive plays had been passing, the most in the league, which Gagnon states is not a "good thing", as the five teams with the highest passing percentage in the NFL in 2013 had losing records. Additionally, the passing attack would have to defend against the rush, with the Jets blitzing 75 percent of the time; New York had recorded 47 sacks since week one of 2013, tied for the 10th most in the league, while Pro Football Focus ranked Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson as the top 12 pass-rushing 3-4 defensive ends in the NFL, with Quinton Coples having the most QB pressures of a 3-4 OLB with ten. However, Jay Cutler had completed 67 percent of passes under pressure, the second-most in the NFL. the Bears led the league in completions of four yards or more on first down with 21, and despite injuries to Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, the passing game could have a chance against a secondary that struggled in the previous week against the Packers. Matt Forte would also be a viable passing option, but the Jets had the fifth-fewest receiving yards by an RB allowed with 28.5 On defense, the Bears would have to stop the Jets' rushing game, which led the league with 358 total rushing yards, while tying for third in the NFL with 33 runs of four yards or more, and averaged 5.54 yards on first down. Chris Ivory also had the highest rushing average with 6.3 yards, while the Jets averaged 5 yards offensively, and the Bears were allowing 5.3 yards per carry, while allowing a total of 320 yards and four touchdowns on 60 carries. On special teams, the Bears had promoted Rashad Ross, who averaged 32 return yards with the Washington Redskins in the preseason, from the practice squad, which appeared to be an improvement over Senorise Perry, who had returned only two of eleven kickoffs in the first two games of the season. The betting line for the game was New York by -2.5. The Bears' captains were Cutler, Lance Briggs, and Danny McCray, while Sherrick McManis, Shea McClellin, Roberto Garza, Matt Slauson, Charles Leno, Jr., and Trevor Scott were not active. The Bears won the coin toss, and deferred until the second half. On the second play of the Jets' first drive, Smith's fake screen pass was intercepted by Ryan Mundy, scoring on a 45-yard return. After the Jets punted, the Bears also were forced to punt, but Jalen Saunders muffed the punt, which was recovered by Ahmad Dixon. Four plays later, Jay Cutler threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett, with New York scoring the final points of the first quarter via Nick Folk's 43-yard field goal. Both teams exchanged field goals on their first drives of the second quarter. On the Jets' next drive, Smith connected with Jeremy Kerley on a 19-yard pass to make the score 17-13. On the Bears' following possession, Cutler was stripped by David Harris, with Demario Davis scoring on the return. However, the officials had believed Cutler was downed prior to losing the ball, and while a challenge ruled the play as a fumble, the touchdown was not recorded. Despite the takeaway, the Jets would be forced to punt. The half would end with no additional scoring. On Chicago's first drive of the second half, Cutler threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bennett. After both teams traded punts, Smith and the Jets reached the Bears' 18-yard line, but was his pass intended for David Nelson was intercepted by Kyle Fuller in the endzone. The Jets would later kick a 22-yard field goal. In the final quarter, Folk kicked a 42-yarder, with Robbie Gould kicking one of 45 yards on the next drive, the score becoming 27-19. On New York's final drive of the game, the offense reached the Bears' nine-yard line, but on 4th and 5, Smith's pass for Kerley was defended by rookie Brock Vereen, and despite catching the ball, Kerley was out of bounds. The Bears kneeled three times to end the game. The game marked the first time since week 16 of 2012 against the Arizona Cardinals that the Bears allowed fewer than 20 points in a game. Fuller, who was making his first career start, became the first NFL player in the last 20 years to record three interceptions and two forced fumbles in the first three games.

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