In the end, they were a haggard, beaten bunch.
The Bears were not stripped of their pride nor were they the authors of a performance that whitewashed all that had led to this moment in South Florida–nothing as severe as that.
But the defense, so long thought of as a snarling, impenetrable menace, was spent. And the quarterback, given the biggest stage possible to cram validation down the throats of his critics, made the biggest mistake of the game.
The Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowl XLI, 29-17, on Sunday night, raising the Lombardi Trophy under a curtain of South Florida rain and leaving the Bears no argument about how much they deserved to achieve this season.
“Everybody did their part. We worked together,” said Peyton Manning, the game’s MVP.
“That’s been our theme all year–we’ve won as a team. No panic.”
The Bears were done in by the Colts’ offense, which thoroughly dominated with 430 yards and 24 first downs.
They were done in by a pair of runners that wore down the Bears in Dominic Rhodes (113 yards) and Joseph Addai (77 yards).
They were done in by Manning, who won his first Super Bowl title after connecting on 25-of-38 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown.
And in the equivalent of a cosmic kick in the shin, they were done in by a Chicago kid, with former Hubbard High School and Illinois standout Kelvin Hayden picking off Rex Grossman early in the fourth quarter and returning it 56 yards for a touchdown that gave the Colts their 29-17 lead.
Meanwhile, after Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, it was as if the Bears forgot to pay their electric bill, and all the power got shut down.
The offense produced 265 yards. Thomas Jones ran for 112 yards, but 52 came on one play, and Cedric Benson carried the ball twice and lost one fumble before leaving the game with an injury to his left knee.
And Grossman?
He completed 20-of-28 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. But undoubtedly, he will be remembered for being on the wrong end of Hayden’s game-changing interception.
The Bears did not lead after the midway point of the second quarter, though the first half was positively pupil-dilating.
All in the first 30 minutes
– The Hester kickoff return on the first play of the game
– Two 50-yard-plus plays
– A botched extra point; four turnovers between the teams in the first quarter alone, and six in total–including the teams twice exchanging fumbles on consecutive plays
– An injury to a key Bears offensive cog, Benson
– A missed Adam Vinatieri field goal to end the half
– And, for what it’s worth, a historic rainfall.
Meanwhile, Manning overcame a 1 of 4 start to finish 17 of 26 passing for 193 yards in the first half.
In the end, the Colts took the night and the trophy, and the Bears were left to walk dejectedly into a sheet of rain, empty-handed.
– – –
THE MVP
Peyton Manning
Indianapolis QB
STATS: 25-of-38 for 247 yards,1 TD, 1 INT,
81.8 rating
IMPACT: Peyton Manning finally has an answer for that perpetual question. Yes, he can win the big game–and yes, he can do it in a big way too. The two-time NFL MVP kept the Bears on their heels with his play calling at the line of scrimmage. He also took advantage of a gross breakdown in coverage on a third-and-10–and with Tank Johnson wrapped around his waist–and found a wide-open Reggie Wayne for a 53-yard score.
QUOTE: “It’s hard to put into words. I’m proud to be part of this team. We stuck together, won this game for our leader, Tony Dungy.”
THE GOAT
Rex Grossman
BEARS QB
STATS: 20-of-28 for 165 yards,
1 TD, 2 INT,
1 fumble lost, 68.3 rating
IMPACT: Rex Grossman completed 6-of-8 passes in the first half, one for a touchdown. But his stumble and mishandled snap in the third quarter were disasters, and an ill-advised heave toward Muhsin Muhammad early in the fourth quarter was intercepted by Kelvin Hayden and returned for a touchdown to end any real chance of a comeback. His poor throw to Bernard Berrian was picked off one possession later. Two interceptions and two dropped snaps.
QUOTE: “A frustrating loss. There were definitely opportunities for us to take that game, and we didn’t do it.”
– – –
THE STATS
INDIANAPOLIS
PASS Manning
CMP 25
ATT 38
YDS 247
TD 1
INT 1
RUSH Rhodes
ATT 15
YDS 113
AVG 5.4
TD 1
FUM 0
RUSH Addai
ATT 19
YDS 77
AVG 4.1
TD 0
FUM 0
REC Addai
REC 10
YDS 66
AVG 6.6
TD 0
FUM 0
REC Wayne
REC 2
YDS 61
AVG 30.5
TD 1
FUM 0
REC Harrison
REC 5
YDS 59
AVG 11.8
TD 0
FUM 0
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Adam Vinatieri converted 3-of-4 field goal attempts, missing from short range just before the half.
CB Kelvin Hayden sealed the game for the Colts when he returned a Rex Grossman pass 56-yards for a touchdown.
BEARS
PASS Grossman
CMP 20
ATT 28
YDS 165
TD 1
INT 2
RUSH Jones
ATT 15
YDS 112
AVG 7.5
TD 0
FUM 0
RUSH Grossman
ATT 2
YDS 0
AVG 0.0
TD 0
FUM 1
REC De. Clark
REC 6
YDS 64
AVG 6.8
TD 0
FUM 0
REC Berrian
REC 4
YDS 38
AVG 9.5
TD 0
FUM 0
REC Muhammad
REC 3
YDS 35
AVG 11.7
TD 1
FUM 0
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Devin Hester became the first Super Bowl player to return the opening kickoff 92 yards for a score. It was also the first first-quarter touchdown by an NFC team in the last eight Super Bowls.
THE NUMBERS GAME
4
The number of turnovers in the first quarter were a Super Bowl record for an opening period.
5 of 10
The number of third downs the Colts converted in the first half while the Bears went just 1-for-5.
2
Number of first-half plays longer than 50 yards, one by each team.
39:04
Indianapolis had the ball for 39 minutes 4 seconds in a game in which time of possession was key.
74,512
Fans who attended Sunday’s game at Dolphin Stadium.
FIRST TO WIN
Colts coach Tony Dungy became the first African-American coach to win an NFL title by beating his good friend, Lovie Smith.
THE SAID IT
“I didn’t expect them to run the ball like they did. We didn’t do a good job against it. We’re a good tackling team, but we missed tackles today. You’ve got to hit the gaps. We had a good game plan. We just didn’t execute.”
— BEARS LB BRIAN URLACHER
“I just don’t know how to explain it. We just couldn’t get into any kind of rhythm. It seems like we kept finding ourselves in third-and-9.”
— BEARS RB THOMAS JONES
