When the Seattle Seahawks come to Soldier Field, they will be underdogs to a team that demolished them in the regular season. They came within a fumbled snap of being eliminated from the playoffs Saturday night.
But they are a serious universal sports problem: a team that survives and thinks it might be better than it is. A team of destiny?
“We’d like to think so,” Pro Bowl middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu said.
They are a team the Bears want to get far away from on the scoreboard quickly. Dallas did not Saturday night and paid dearly. The Seahawks have played six games decided by three or fewer points this season and won five, including 21-20 over the Cowboys.
The Bears will in no way look at their 37-6 rout of Seattle and treat this one as a foregone conclusion. In that loss, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck managed just 17 completions in 37 attempts and was sacked five times.
“That was probably the worst we have played as a team this year, and for sure me,” he said.
If they need any special motivation, several Seahawks would not mind showing the Bears they made a mistake letting them go: receiver Bobby Engram, who caught four passes for a game-high 88 yards against Dallas; Chris Gray, the starter at right guard; and starting defensive tackle Russell Davis, who played eight games in 1999 as a Bears rookie and was cut the next off-season
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ON TV
Seattle at BEARS
Noon Sunday, Fox
SPOTLIGHT ON
The Seahawks secondary
Injuries caused the Seahawks to lose three of their top four cornerbacks, including starters Marcus Trufant and Kelly Herndon, in the last two weeks. To fill the roster, Holmgren raided the workforce to sign defensive backs Pete Hunter and Rich Gardner, the two guys who thanked the Seattle coach for the holiday surprise.
Hunter was working as a loan officer in Dallas a week before he knocked down Tony Romo’s final Hail Mary pass. Gardner, signed the previous week, had played himself out of the league.
Rex Grossman completed 17 of 31 passes for 232 yards and two TDs against the Seahawks in October.
— Tribune
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NFC PLAYOFFs
SEATTLE 21, DALLAS 20
The Seahawks are fortunate to be heading to Soldier Field after Dallas threw away the first-round match. Or maybe not so fortunate, considering they are banged-up on defense, particularly in the secondary, and they lost 37-6 there on Oct. 1.
Looking forward: At least this time, star running back Shaun Alexander will be available. He was sidelined with a broken foot back then.
While the Bears haven’t been quite as overwhelming late in the year and have gotten inconsistent quarterbacking, their defense is elite. “The best defense in the NFL. You might have to be crazy to want to play them, I don’t know,” Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said.
SEATTLE (10-7)
AT BEARS (13-3)
— Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA 23, N.Y. GIANTS 20
After the Giants tied it, Philly marched 46 yards and David Akers kicked the winning field goal. The Eagles got a terrific performance from Brian Westbrook, who rushed for 141 yards, including a dazzling 49-yard TD run in the second quarter.
Looking forward: New Orleans beat Philadelphia 27-24 at the Superdome in October, when Eagles QB Donovan McNabb still was healthy. Veteran Jeff Garcia has stepped in since McNabb got hurt and has performed brilliantly to turn around the team’s season.
Now, the Eagles face the Saints’ high-powered offense led by quarterback Drew Brees. They’ll do so without cornerback Lito Sheppard, who dislocated his elbow against New York.
PHILADELPHIA (11-6)
NEW ORLEANS (10-6)
— Associated Press
AFC PLAYOFFS
INDIANAPOLIS 23, KANSAS CITY 8
Keys to the game: Indianapolis showed some staunch defense for once in beating the Chiefs. The lowest-ranked run defense in football held Kansas City to 44 yards on the ground and 126 overall.
Looking forward: A similar defensive effort might be needed at Baltimore (13-3). The Ravens have the top-rated defense in the league. Indianapolis also lost its last four road games after winning the first four. And Baltimore was 7-1 at home.
“I think it is a fine line,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said. “We have struggled lately, but what we’ve got to do is find a way to duplicate what we did yesterday–and play better.”
INDIANAPOLIS (13-4)
AT BALTIMORE (13-3)
— Associated Press
NEW ENGLAND 37, N.Y JETS 16
Tom Brady guided three long scoring drives and threw two touchdown passes, and Asante Samuel had a 36-yard interception return for a score with 4:54 left.
Looking forward: The San Diego Chargers probably expected to see the New England Patriots somewhere in the AFC playoffs. It will happen Sunday, when the AFC’s best team this season hosts the NFL’s best team this decade.
The Patriots are 11-1 under Bill Belichick in the postseason, and they manhandled the Jets late in Sunday’s game. They aren’t likely to do that against a Chargers team that went 8-0 at home.
NEW ENGLAND (13-4)
SAN DIEGO (14-2)
— Associated Press
