After losing in New England on Sept. 27, Atlanta emerged from its week off with a 45-10 thumping of NFC West-leading San Francisco.
Ryan threw for a career-best 329 yards and two touchdowns to Roddy White, and capped the scoring with a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.
White finished with a team-record 210 yards on eight receptions, including a 90-yard touchdown that started a string of 31 unanswered points.
The Falcons finished with 477 total yards of offense, their best output since amassing 533 against Detroit on Dec. 12, 2002. Michael Turner narrowly missed his second 100-yard rushing game of the season, gaining 97 on 22 carries.
"We did it today a little bit in the air and some on the ground," Ryan said. "I feel like even doing what we did and scoring that many points, we can still get better."
Turner, a Chicago-area native and Northern Illinois graduate,
He was second in the NFL with 106.2 rush yards per game in 2008, and ranks sixth this season with 80.8.
The Bears, meanwhile, have struggled to run the ball for much of this season. Matt Forte finished with 121 yards on 12 carries and scored his first touchdown in the win over the Lions, but 61 yards came on one run.:scared
That one rush also accounts for nearly 17 percent of Chicago's 366 rushing yards in 2009. The Bears rank 27th in the NFL with 91.5 rush yards per game.
Without Forte's long run, that average would drop to 76.3, putting them ahead of only Houston, Arizona and San Diego. Forte has run for 271 yards this season after gaining 1,238 as a rookie.
Since their 1985 championship season, the Bears have won eight of 10 meetings with the Falcons. However, they are 2-2 at the Georgia Dome after last season's bitter defeat.
"It was a big win, but that's done. That was last year," Ryan said. "They're a different football team this year. We know how a tough team coming in, a tough matchup. We're just doing what we can to get ready to play."
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Chicagos inability to run consistantly could be the main factor in winning this play. Cutler having to do it all may be too much to ask.