The last time the Bears won the NFC championship, Wilber Marshall picked up a Los Angeles Rams fumble caused by a Richard Dent sack and headed into Chicago immortality. He scored that final touchdown as snow began to fall, allegedly a sign from above that the late George Halas was sending down his blessing on the moment.
Dent was the Bears’ honorary captain Sunday, and Halas’ daughter and Bears owner Virginia McCaskey was on hand, later accepting the NFC championship trophy named after her father. And the snow fell once more, this time on a 39-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints that propelled the Bears into their first Super Bowl since that snowy day in January 1986.
“What made me think about it was that it actually started snowing when Wilber Marshall was returning [that fumble],” defensive end Alex Brown said.
“It was real sweet.”
Brown and the Bears earned their chance to join that team in franchise history by destroying a New Orleans team with the third-most points scored in an NFC championship game since 1970.
They did it, including putting up the last 23 without an answer, by ransacking the Saints for four takeaways, by rushing for 196 yards and three touchdowns and by scoring more than 30 points for the seventh time in 18 games.
The Saints did themselves no favors against a team already fuming about a perceived lack of respect from fans, media and even peers.
Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye pointedly mentioned that someone had left in his locker a sheet showing that a panel of eight national experts, mostly ex-NFL players, had unanimously picked the Saints to defeat the Bears.
So when Reggie Bush somersaulted into the end zone in front of a pursuing Brian Urlacher at the end of an 88-yard scoring pass early in the third quarter, Ogunleye was close to smacking the talented rookie in the mouth.
“He had his little moment,” defensive tackle Tank Johnson said. “We had our big moment.”
Bush’s touchdown cut the Saints’ deficit to 16-14. But from that point on, the Bears clamped down, holding the Saints to 102 more yards and zero points on five possessions.
While the defense was destroying Bush, Drew Brees and the rest of the New Orleans offense, the Bears were shaking off a sluggish third quarter and scoring touchdowns on three of four possessions in the fourth quarter.
The locker room was a happy place, but there were no wild celebrations, no showers of carbonated beverages, no victory cigars. Perhaps because in some Bears’ minds, they haven’t won anything yet.
“We haven’t,” cornerback Charles Tillman said.
“Today we are one step closer to attaining our main goal.
“The journey of a thousand miles has one more step to take.”
– – –
WHAT’S SUPER ABOUT THE BEARS?
Rex Grossman
His numbers were pedestrian–11 of 26 for 144 yards–but he completed the important number for the Bears’ hopes: zero turnovers. After the Saints rallied with touchdowns before and after the half and the Bears’ running game stalled, Grossman stepped up with pinpoint passes, capping an 85-yard drive with a 33-yard scoring toss to Bernard Berrian.
The pass rush
The rush had taken a big hit with the loss of Tommie Harris to injury, but pass pressure helped force a fumble, an interception and intentional grounding from the end zone, resulting in a safety. Adewale Ogunleye, Mark Anderson and Israel Idonije each had a sack. In the fourth quarter, Ogunleye sacked Drew Brees and recovered a fumble at the Bears 26, resulting in Cedric Benson’s touchdown.
Under-the-radar players
Adrian Peterson provides a power-running third option at running back, but on Sunday he showed off his skills as a head-hunter in kick coverage. Peterson had several jarring hits, including one that forced Michael Lewis’ fumble in the first quarter.
WHAT’S NOT SUPER ABOUT THE BEARS?
Rex Grossman
Call it early game jitters. Call it the Rex Factor–that offensive gremlin that flummoxes drives and maddens Bears fans. During most of the first half, odds were Grossman was plagued by his own version of the over/under: overthrows such as a missed touchdown pass to Desmond Clark and underthrows on home-run attempts to Bernard Berrian that were batted away.
Pass coverage
The field was slippery on Sunday but the Bears’ secondary was slipping long before stepping onto Soldier Field’s soggy turf. Down 16-0 in the second quarter, Saints QB Drew Brees completed long completions before connecting with Marques Colston on a 13-yard score as cornerback Charles Tillman struggled to keep his footing. In the third quarter, Reggie Bush beat Chris Harris at the line, caught a Brees pass, faked out Danieal Manning, then pointed at Brian Urlacher as he outran the speedy middle linebacker on his way to an 88-yard touchdown.
Soldier Field
The Bears can’t take it with them to Miami. Soldier Field’s mush stymied the Saints’ timing in the passing game, as well as their running backs’ cutback ability. And the crowd noise didn’t help New Orleans’ cause.
— RedEye, Associated Press
– – –
MORE ONLINE
Sing it
Mike Ditka’s done it. Bag Boy’s done it. A Chicago opera singer’s done it. Now it’s your turn to record your version of the Bears fight song and upload at redeyechicago.com/ditka
