Bears' Matt Forte Leaves Game With Right Knee Injury
By Chris Emma--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bad news struck the Bears in the third quarter of Sunday's game with the Vikings, as running back Matt Forte suffered an apparent right knee injury on a hard open-field tackle from Minnesota safety Harrison Smith.
Forte limped off the field and walked to the locker room after an evaluation by team trainers. The Bears ruled him out for the game. Coach John Fox didn't offer details on Forte's status moving forward.
"They did the evaluation and they have an idea, but I hate to speculate until they get medical evidence," Fox said after Chicago's 23-20 loss to Minnesota.
Forte compiled 41 rushing yards on 10 carries, while adding four receptions. At the time of the play, the Bears and Vikings were even at 10. Forte went for eight yards on the screen pass before going down with an injury. The play helped Chicago set up the go-ahead field goal from Robbie Gould.
Rookie running back Jeremy Langford stepped in for Forte, rushing for 46 yards on 12 carries. However, Langford had a drop on third down of the Bears' attempt at a game-winning drive, which proved to be costly.
"I just got to focus better and secure that catch to help my team out -- and Jay Cutler," Langford said.
In the loss, Chicago also saw receiver Eddie Royal suffer a knee injury and cornerback Bryce Callahan suffer a concussion.
The Bears are prepared to move on with Langford if Forte is out for an extended period of time.
"I thought he did a really good job of stepping in for Matt," Cutler said. "We will see what the extent of Matt's injury is, but I look forward to (Langford) having a long career here."
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