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National Football League
St. Louis 42, Chicago 21
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 24, 2013
Where: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: Jerome Boger
Attendance: 66024

Rams 42, Bears 21: Rookies Benny Cunningham and Zac Stacy combined for 196 rushing yards and two touchdowns and fellow first-year player Tavon Austin scored on a 65-yard run as host St. Louis survived a rash of injuries to win its second straight.

Kellen Clemens completed 10-of-22 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown for the Rams (5-6), who piled up 258 yards on the ground against the league's 31st-ranked rushing defense. Stacy ran 12 times for 87 yards and a score before leaving with a head injury at halftime and Cunningham picked up the bulk of his 109 yards in the second half, including nine on a late touchdown.

Josh McCown, making his second consecutive start in place of the injured Jay Cutler, was 36-for-47 for 352 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Brandon Marshall made 10 catches for 117 yards and a score and Matt Forte rushed for 77 yards for Chicago (6-5), which had 10 penalties - three of which nullified touchdowns - and all three of the game's turnovers.

McCown's short scoring strike to Marshall helped the Bears get within 24-14 at the break, but Chicago was stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the Rams' 1-yard line early in the third quarter and St. Louis responded with a field goal to make it 27-14. Michael Bush plowed in for a 1-yard touchdown with 7:15 left in the game to trim the Bears' deficit to six before Cunningham scored with 3:05 remaining and a McCown fumble one minute later was brought back 31 yards by Robert Quinn for the clinching score.

Austin, who had a 98-yard punt return for a touchdown and receiving scores of 81 and 57 yards in the previous game at Indianapolis, took a pitch from Clemens on the third play from scrimmage and raced down the right side to set the tone. A Forte fumble on the very next snap set up Stacy's 1-yard touchdown run and Clemens found Jared Cook from 6 yards out for a 21-7 lead less than 14 minutes in.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Rams also lost LG Chris Williams and CB Trumaine Johnson to head injuries. ... Forte moved past Neal Anderson and into second place on the Bears' all-time rushing list, still well behind Hall of Famer Walter Payton. ... Austin is the first player in NFL history with a punt return TD of at least 95 yards, a receiving TD of at least 80 yards and a rushing TD of at least 65 yards in the same season.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Chicago   St. Louis
Matt Forte Player Benny Cunningham
16 Attempts 13
77 Yards 109
4.8 Avg Yards 8.4
0 Touchdowns 1
26 Long 27
Receiving
Chicago   St. Louis
Brandon Marshall Player Jared Cook
10 Receptions 4
117 Yards 80
11.7 Avg Yards 20.0
1 Touchdowns 1
23 Long 29
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Chicago 424 80 344 3 0 0 2.0 1
St. Louis 406 258 148 5 2 1 1.0 3
Upcoming Games
  • St. Louis will play their next game on the road against San Francisco. The Rams have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .333 after a loss.
  • Chicago will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Bears have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .800 after a loss.