This was the game. The NFL’s game of the week. The potential NFC championship preview against the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks.
The Bears’ biggest test to date–perhaps of the season.
It was fitting that the White Sox closed out a disappointing season and the Cubs were on the eve of dismissing Dusty Baker after four seasons of unfulfilled promise. The Bears officially became the city’s last and greatest hope for postseason glory this fall.
After all, it’s a “Bears town” anyway, isn’t it? That has been the conventional wisdom, right?
Well, take a 4-0 team and multiply that fever about four times. Take a team that’s alone at the top of the NFC, and this city’s bandwagon will bubble over. The diehard fan can breathe easier. And the casual fan can start paying attention.
Baseball’s over. The Bulls have yet to begin. And hockey’s, well, hockey. This is a football team–a real football team–that reinvigorated a city still living in 1985 and commanded the country’s attention with a nationally televised 37-6 victory against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Rex Grossman threw for 232 yards, and Ricky Manning Jr. intercepted two of Matt Hasselbeck’s passes.
Grossman had another solid performance, completing 17 of 31 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and the Bears improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1991. Bernard Berrian had a career-high 108 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears also got their running game going, with Thomas Jones rushing for 98 yards and two touchdowns. And the league’s fourth-ranked defense shut down a Seahawks team that was missing injured running back Shaun Alexander.
