The Chicago Bears desperately needed a spark, and it figured that Devin Hester would be the one to deliver.

Sure, Robbie Gould kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime and the defending NFC champions gave their flickering playoff hopes a boost with a 37-34 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

True, Bernard Berrian made a spectacular touchdown catch at the end of regulation. But Hester’s two touchdown returns in the second half woke up a team that seemed to be asleep on the field.

That’s why Denver’s Dre Bly said, “I feel like we single-handedly got beat by one guy.”

Of course, there was more to it than Hester.

After scoring two touchdowns in the final 5:17 of regulation, the Bears (5-6) won the coin toss to start overtime. They drove from their 24 to the Denver 18, where Rex Grossman took a knee. Gould then came in and delivered the game-winner, 3:41 into OT, bringing a dramatic game to a finish.

Denver (5-6) was up 34-20 early in the fourth quarter after an acrobatic 14-yard touchdown catch by Tony Scheffler, but the Bears weren’t finished.

Charles Tillman blocked a punt and Brandon McGowan recovered, giving Chicago the ball on the Broncos’ 18. That led to a 4-yard touchdown run by Adrian Peterson, who was pushed in by his teammates in a scrum.

More drama followed.

With their playoff hopes perhaps hanging by a thread, the Bears tied it with 28 seconds left in regulation on a 3-yard catch by Bernard Berrian that figures to show up on highlight reels. Berrian spun away from Champ Bailey and lunged to catch the pass from Grossman on the right side of the end zone, his right foot dragging as his left knee hit the ground in bounds. The play was reviewed and the call on the field upheld.

The TD capped a 65-yard drive that Denver’s Dre Bly kept alive with an illegal contact on fourth down at the Chicago 36. Grossman connected with Rashied Davis and Muhsin Muhammad for 21 and 13-yard completions that helped set up the touchdown.

“Studying film, we knew he would kind of bite on the initial move, the first move and going back to the corner of the end zone I just think where he was at the way he bit, Rex couldn’t really get it over his shoulder,” Berrian said. “And I think he would have made a play on it. So Rex threw a back shoulder ball and just allowed me to make a play on it.”

The Bears managed to stay in the game despite inopportune penalties, a few breakdowns on defense and the loss of another key player to an injury — Cedric Benson.

They can thank Hester they were still in it. He returned five punts for 81 yards and five kickoffs for 151.

“I take it personal when a team says they are going to kick it to us,” he said. “They feel like they are kicking it to us because they feel we’re not good. We’re trying to make it to the playoffs. This is one step to get us in the hunt.”

And Hester’s feet led them in the right direction.

After fielding a punt at the 25 early in the third quarter and his team down 13-6, Hester turned up the left side, and leapfrogged two defenders on his way to the end zone. It was the ninth time the second-year pro took a kick all the way, breaking Gale Sayers’ club record, and his sixth career punt return for a TD.

Still, he wasn’t finished.

Cecil Sapp had just scored on a 5-yard run to give the Broncos a 20-13 lead with 2:38 left in the third when Hester struck again.

This time, he did it on the kickoff.

Hester burst through the middle and ran it back 88 yards, sidestepping a lunging kicker Todd Sauerbrun. It was the fourth time he returned a kickoff for a touchdown in his career.

Denver had a quick answer on that one.

Jay Cutler immediately connected with Brandon Marshall, who beat Ricky Manning for a 68-yard touchdown that put the Broncos ahead 27-20 with 2:11 left in the quarter.

“Devin did an awesome job,” Sauerbrun said. “He won the game for the Bears. The Bears can thank him. It was our fault we let him loose.”

Cutler followed a solid performance in Monday’s 14-point win over Tennessee with another good outing. He completed 17 of 31 passes for 302 yards. He had two touchdowns and one interception.

Scheffler caught five of those passes for 82 yards, and Andre Hall had a decent game filling in for injured running backs Travis Henry and Selvin Young. He carried 26 times for 98 yards and scored a touchdown.

It was not a good day for Benson (eight attempts, 47 yards), who left on a cart after injuring his left ankle at the end of a 21-yard run early in the second.

Grossman was a bit shaky, too, in his second start since returning to the lineup.

He was 17-of-33 with 193 yards thanks to several dropped passes. He had a touchdown and an interception in his first appearance at Soldier Field since a meltdown against Dallas in the third game that led to his benching.

Criticized, booed and then benched, Rex Grossman went from Super Bowl starter to backup. Then came another chance to play again.

Subbing for the injured Brian Griese, Grossman delivered for the Chicago Bears. His well-thrown 59-yard pass to Bernard Berrian with just 3:11 left Sunday gave the Bears the lead and a huge lift in a 17-6 comeback win over the Oakland Raiders.

So after Rex came to the rescue is he back as a starter?

Coach Lovie Smith wasn’t saying Monday, revealing that Griese has a sprained left shoulder and has not been medically cleared to play — a factor that could give Grossman his first start since the third game of the season

“Well, first he needs to be cleared medically, and from there, if he’s cleared medically, he should be ready to go,” Smith said.

The Bears are 4-5 headed into Sunday’s game at Seattle, a team they beat in the regular season and the playoffs last season en route to the Super Bowl. In the 27-24 overtime win against the Seahawks in the playoffs last January, Grossman completed a 30-yard pass to Rashied Davis to set up Robbie Gould’s winning field goal.

“Yes, it’s unclear who’s going to start Sunday. Once you get healthy guys, then you start … right now we finished with two guys that could play, Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton, so that’s really what we’re dealing with right now,” Smith said.

And he added that he doesn’t have to make a decision on a starter until Sunday. But it could be obvious by Wednesday’s practice, if Griese is ready or if Grossman is running the offense. The latter is more probable.

“Someone will be lining up out there Wednesday, someone who’s healthy and ready to go,” Smith said.

Grossman fumbled his very first snap Sunday and completed 7 of 14 passes for 142 yards Sunday, decent numbers for someone who’d been sitting for seven weeks.

“It took me a while to get into the flow and the rhythm of the game, but that was indescribable,” Grossman said Sunday

Grossman, whose contract expires after the season, had just one TD pass and six interceptions in the first three games before he was replaced.

“I hope people appreciate that Rex hasn’t shut it down,” center Olin Kreutz said after Sunday’s game.

“He hasn’t moped around our building. He’s kept himself prepared and ready to play. I hope it shows a lot of people what everybody on this team already knew about Rex. He’s still a professional, and he’s still going to be ready to win.”

Smith said he took notice of how well Grossman played in what he called a hostile environment. He said it’s what he expects of anyone who is second string.

“It showed that Rex has been paying attention,” Smith said.

“The next play they could be called upon and that’s how it was with Rex. But Rex has prepared that way. You’re disappointed when you’re not the starter, but you have to prepare like you could end up coming in and playing, and that’s what he’s done and I think that’s what we saw from the way he played.”

The Bears’ defense got three sacks from Adewale Ogunleye on Sunday, but their running game was stuck as usual, making it tougher on whomever the quarterback might be.

Cedric Benson carried 29 times but managed just 76 yards.

“We’re not pleased with our running game,” Smith said.

With one perfect deep pass, Rex Grossman just might have won back his starting quarterback job and saved the Chicago Bears‘ season.

Grossman replaced an injured Brian Griese and threw a 59-yard pass to Bernard Berrian for the go-ahead score with 3:11 remaining, leading the Bears to a 17-6 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

“It was unbelievable, something you can’t describe to someone who hasn’t been in that position,” Grossman said. “It’s a great feeling to come in and be able to pull one out.”

Sebastian Janikowski’s 52-yard field goal with 4:04 remaining gave Oakland (2-7) a 6-3 lead that looked as if it could be enough on a day when neither offense could move the ball.

Then Grossman, who had struggled in his first game since Sept. 23, turned back into Good Rex, the quarterback who helped lead the Bears (4-5) to the Super Bowl last season instead of the one whose turnovers cost him his job earlier this season.

After the Bears almost botched the kickoff, Grossman hit Cedric Benson on an 11-yard pass over the middle.

On the next play, Berrian sprinted past Chris Carr, caught the deep pass in stride and went into the end zone with the go-ahead score.

“We were trying to get the right matchup all game, and we couldn’t get it, and then it happened,” Berrian said. “At that time of the game, we needed anything to happen, a long run or a long play.”

The Bears took advantage of man coverage by a backup cornerback forced into a starting role because of injuries to Nnamdi Asomugha and Fabian Washington. Carr was solid for almost the entire game, with six tackles and one pass breakup, but got beat on the one play that mattered most.

“They did a very good job of selling me on the go route,” Carr said. “He gave me a little hesitation and I wasn’t running as fast as I should have been running. He got a step on me. Once he got a step on me, he got me.”

Grossman, who had been 5-for-12 for 72 yards before the winning drive, leaped into teammate John Tait’s arms and flashed a smile that hadn’t been seen in a long while.

Grossman was benched after throwing six interceptions and only one touchdown pass in Chicago’s first three games. Combined with his 23 interceptions in 19 games last season, the Bears had grown tired of all of Grossman’s mistakes and decided to go with the veteran Griese.

The move back to Grossman didn’t look like it would pay off when he fumbled the first center exchange with Olin Kreutz. He did little positive other than the one big pass to Berrian, finishing 7-for-14 for 142 yards. But most importantly, he had no turnovers.

“I hope people appreciate that Rex hasn’t shut it down,” Kreutz said. “He hasn’t moped around our building. He’s kept himself prepared and ready to play. I hope it shows a lot of people what everybody on this team already knew about Rex. He’s still a professional, and he’s still going to be ready to win.”

The Bears won in their first game after the bye, but still have plenty more to do if they want to make it back to the playoffs. It just might be Grossman who has to take them there. Griese’s shoulder injury is not believed to be serious, but coach Lovie Smith said he wanted to savor this win before making any decisions about the quarterback next week.

The Raiders went three-and-out on their next drive after Grossman’s TD pass.

After a Chicago punt, Adewale Ogunleye then forced a fumble by Josh McCown that Israel Idonije recovered at the 3 with 1:39 remaining. Benson ran it in on the next play to seal the victory. Benson finished with 76 yards on 29 carries.

McCown was booed during pregame introductions by the fans eager for top pick JaMarcus Russell to play. McCown didn’t silence the critics, going 1-for-13 in a stretch that began late in the first half and ended after Benson’s touchdown put the game away.

“Obviously the kid’s here for a reason and they picked him No. 1 for a reason,” McCown said. “At some point, he’s going to have to play. Obviously for us we hope that’s not this year because we want to get on a roll here and start winning some ballgames.”

Justin Fargas ran for 81 yards on 23 carries in his second straight start, but also lost a key fumble in the second half. Oakland finished with a season-low 193 yards of offense and lost its fifth straight game.

Raiders coach Lane Kiffin backed up his bold talk during the week and did kick the ball to Chicago’s dangerous returner Devin Hester almost every time. Despite getting more chances that usual to add to his nine return touchdowns in less than two seasons, Hester found little room to run against Oakland’s coverage units.

He returned one kickoff from 8 yards deep in the end zone and only managed to make it out to the 11. He also twice lost 4 yards on punt returns. Hester’s one big play, a 64-yard punt return, was wiped out by a holding call on Brendon Ayanbadejo.

“I did get frustrated a couple of times, but you just have to stay patient and know your opportunities are going to happen,” Hester said.

After watching most teams kick the ball away from Devin Hester all season, Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was a little surprised to hear that Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin planned to challenge the NFL’s best returner.

“Serious? Punts and kickoffs? It will be fun then,” Urlacher said Wednesday on a conference call with Bay Area reporters. “I can’t wait to watch. The last few games he hasn’t gotten many opportunities but when he does, he definitely takes advantage of them. So, I’m excited to hear that, it should give us a little boost there.”

Most teams do whatever they can to keep the ball away from Hester, who has nine returns for touchdowns in less than two full seasons in the NFL. Hester is so dangerous at returning kicks and punts that teams often prefer to kick the ball out of bounds just to keep him from having a chance at pulling off another highlight-reel return.

Kiffin said “it’s no fun to kick out of bounds,” and he wanted to test his special teams on Sunday against a player he called perhaps the best punt returner ever to play the game.

Whether that’s just pregame bluster or his actual strategy won’t be known until Sunday.

“We would definitely welcome that philosophy,” Chicago coach Lovie Smith said. “Does he mean it? Most teams haven’t kicked to him. I can understand why you’ll get a guy that would say, ‘Hey, he puts on his shoes just like everyone else. We’re going to kick the ball to him. We don’t like what’s happened so far. We need to change the tempo.’ If I was on the other side of the field, I would kick the ball to Devin Hester.”

That’s easy for Smith to say. He doesn’t have to defend Hester.

Oakland struggled early stopping returns, but has improved in recent weeks now that Isaiah Ekejiuba is healthy and Jarrod Cooper is back from a suspension. Now they get their stiffest test yet and they’re happy about the confidence their coach is showing in the coverage units.

“I’m glad because I would have been mad at him if he would have said, ‘Hey, I don’t think you guys could do it. I’m not kicking it to him,”‘ Cooper said. “We respect Devin Hester just like everyone else does but you don’t turn your whole game plan upside down. You don’t play somebody scared. You respect them but you don’t play them scared.”

Hester’s nine special teams return touchdowns are already tied for fourth most in NFL history, trailing Brian Mitchell (13), Dante Hall and Eric Metcalf (12 each). That doesn’t even count his kickoff return to open the Super Bowl against Indianapolis last season.

His 19.6-yard punt return average this season would be the highest in the NFL since Jack Christiansen averaged 21.5 yards per return in 1952 for Detroit.

One thing that makes Hester so successful, according to Cooper, is that opposing teams are so worried about avoiding the big play that they sometimes are too tentative on their coverage. With a player with the speed and vision like Hester’s, that makes him almost impossible to stop.

“I watched tape after tape and people were breaking down, not taking shots,” Cooper said. “All you’re doing is helping him out. Like I said, I have mad respect for him as a player but we have to attack him like anybody else. … If you hesitate for a minute, you’re going to be watching him and getting his autograph after the game.”

Hester impacts the game whether teams kick to him or not. The Bears’ average start after kickoffs is the 32-yard line, third best in the NFL. The Raiders are in the middle of the pack on kick coverage, ranking 13th in the league by allowing teams to start at the 26.

One thing the Raiders do have is a kicker who can reach the end zone easily. Sebastian Janikowski has sent 23 of his 35 kickoffs into the end zone, with a league-leading 18 being downed for touchbacks. The Bears have received only five kicks all season in the end zone, with just one going for a touchback.

“If he’s going to bring it out, he’s going to bring it out,” Janikowski said. “We’ll see what happens. We’ve got a good coverage team.”

The impact on punts is even more dramatic.

Opponents are averaging a league-low 30.5 net yards per punt against Chicago even though Hester has only gotten the chance to return 22 of 46 punts. There have been four touchbacks and four fair catches, while 15 punts have either gone out of bounds or been so far away from Hester that the opposing team has downed them before he could get to them.

“They either kick it to him, kick it out of bounds, they kick it to one of the up backs, or the punter kicks it out of bounds,” Urlacher said. “When they kick it to him, he usually gets a good return, so it’s kind of like pick your poison with him. He’s just amazing, He’s explosive. He catches the ball good. It kind of makes you mad sometimes, he doesn’t start out very fast, he kinds of weaves his way through, but when he turns it on, he goes

Jimmy Clausen is back as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback.

The freshman, who lost his starting job after struggling against Boston College on Oct. 13, will start Saturday against Air Force. Evan Sharpley had started the past two games, a 38-0 loss to USC and a 46-44 loss in triple overtime to Navy.

Brian Hardin, director of football media relations, announced the decision after practice Wednesday. Coach Charlie Weis, who usually meets with the media on Wednesdays, was not available for comment. Hardin said Weis would talk about his decision after practice Thursday.

Clausen has a better completion percentage than Sharpley, but Sharpley has been more productive. Clausen has completed 81 of 141 passes, a 57.4 completion rate, for 618 yards with five interceptions and one touchdown pass. Sharpley has completed 77 of 140 passes, a 55 percent completion rate, for 736 yards with three interceptions and five touchdowns.

Weis indicated after Notre Dame lost to Navy to fall to 1-8 that Sharpley would likely start again against Air Force. But after reviewing game film Sunday, Weis said he was undecided. On Tuesday he said whoever looked better at practice this week would start.

Weis said at the time he named Sharpley the starter for the USC game that he was doing so because Sharpley was steadily improving and because Clausen, who had been sacked 23 times, was banged up. He said Tuesday that Clausen was getting healthier.

Sharpley was 34-of-60 passing for 257 yards with one interception and two touchdown passes in his two starts. He was sacked nine times.

Clausen was rated by some as the top high school player last year. He became the first Notre Dame quarterback in at least 56 years to start his second game as a freshman, then started the next six. He did not play against USC or Navy.

Weis has said part of the reason Clausen has struggled is because he’s had trouble adjusting to the speed of the game.