Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
With the Bears' recent success, what are the chances of some of their remaining games being flexed into a later afternoon or Sunday night time slot?
Joe P.
Chicago, Illinois
The Bears' final three games—all of which are scheduled to kick off at noon (CT) on Sunday—are eligible to be flexed to later Sunday afternoon or Sunday night. Personally, I think the best chance of that happening is Week 15 when the Bears visit the Vikings or possibly even Week 16 when they visit the Buccaneers. The Sunday night games currently scheduled for Weeks 15 and 16 are Bengals-49ers and Steelers-Ravens, respectively. The deadline to make those decisions is 12 days before each game. The NFL announced Sunday night that the Week 14 Sunday night game will be the Texans against the Patriots.
Seeing Tracy Porter intercept Aaron Rodgers Thursday night and knowing that Porter picked off Brett Favre in a playoff game, I was wondering how many players have intercepted both quarterbacks.
Lyle P.
Erie, Pennsylvania
With his interception of Aaron Rodgers in Thursday night's win over the Packers, Bears cornerback Tracy Porter became the fifth active NFL player to pick off both Rodgers and Brett Favre. The other four are former Bears and current Panthers cornerback Charles Tillman, Bengals safety Leon Hall, Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis and Vikings cornerback Terence Newman. Porter intercepted Favre in the final seconds of the 2009 NFC Championship Game when Porter played for the Saints and Favre was with the Vikings.
I was surprised that the Packers were not awarded a safety when the Bears touched a kickoff at about the three-yard line and recovered the ball in the end zone. What is the rule in that situation?
Fred S.
Schaumburg, Illinois
If the officials rule that the ball would have carried into the end zone on its own without touching a member of the receiving team, the receiving team can still down it in the end zone for a touchback if they've touched the ball in the field of play. That's what happened Thursday night in Green Bay when Deonte Thompson and Marc Mariani collided while trying to catch a kickoff. It was actually a very smart play by Thompson to grab the ball and take a knee in the end zone.
