Quick: Which team was the NFC North champion playing for home-field advantage in the playoffs? Which one was the 2007 flop with nothing to play for in a lost season?
The Green Bay Packers came to Soldier Field looking for a victory that would have enhanced their shot at achieving home-field advantage in a postseason that the Bears will only watch. The Bears had four defensive starters on the bench for a game that meant little after three straight losses that effectively ended their season.
Naturally, the Packers went home with a 35-7 defeat, their sixth loss in eight meetings with Lovie Smith-coached Bears teams, buried under the biggest Bears points avalanche since the 61-7 annihilation in 1980.
If the Bears wanted to salvage something from a year of monumental disappointment, they got it Sunday. Forget the cliched victory over historical rival Green Bay, completing a season’s sweep over the Packers.
The Bears needed a victory to reverse the building sense of deterioration hanging about a franchise that was in the Super Bowl less than a year ago.
The Bears made high-impact plays in every area. They blocked two punts and returned one for a touchdown. They intercepted two passes and returned one of those for a score. An offense averaging 78 rushing yards of offense per game had 121 after three quarters and had tailback Adrian Peterson with 102 yards by game’s end.
How unlikely a game was it? At one point midway through the third quarter, Brett Favre had a passer rating of 1.7. He was at 28.2 midway through the fourth quarter. Kyle Orton’s was 103.6.
It was a game with all the prospects of a disaster. Running back Ryan Grant and the Green Bay offense needed only a 66-yard touchdown run to jump ahead of the Bears’ two field goals. But when Jon Ryan mis-hit a punt for nine yards to give the Bears the ball again at their 45 late in the second quarter, the offense finally awoke to finish the half the way it began.
It was a game in windy, snowy conditions that saw the Bears come out with a simple smash-mouth mind-set. Orton put the ball in the hands of running backs on 15 of the first 17 plays on the way to an opening field goal. The opening drive of 18 plays consumed nearly 11 minutes of clock time and covered 67 yards.
How much did that idle time hurt the Packers? The Packers are no strangers to standing around in the cold. Still, Favre did let a third-down snap go through his hands in shotgun formation, giving Alex Brown a sack, and punter Jon Ryan bobbled the punt snap one play later, giving the Bears the ball at the Green Bay 34.
The defense immediately set the Packers reeling backward to open the second half. Brown dropped into short zone coverage and intercepted a Favre pass to give the Bears the ball at the Green Bay 29.
Orton put the Bears in true control of the game with a three-yard flip off play action to Desmond Clark for a touchdown, followed by a perfectly placed high throw to Olsen for the two-point conversion and a 21-7 lead midway through the third quarter.
Special teams struck again against the Green Bay punter, who appeared unsure of his footing and slow to get the ball away. Charles Tillman streaked in from the right side, got his right hand on the punt and blocked it. Rookie Corey Graham picked up the ball at the Green Bay 6 and went into the end zone for a 28-7 lead.
Brian Urlacher intercepted a Favre pass and went 85 yards for the final Bears score.
* Find coverage of the NFL’s playoff picture on Page 15.
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POLL POSITION
Chicagosports.com asked: “Who’s your MVP?”
37.2% Special teams coordinator Dave Toub
35.5% Kyle Orton (103.6 rating, 1 TD, 0 INT)
14.8% Brian Urlacher (85-yard INT return)
11.5% Adrian Peterson (103 yards, 1 TD)
3% Alex Brown (Sack, INT)
DOT COMMENTS
“This hurts even more than a Bears loss. If they only could have played with this fire a few more games, like vs. Giants, Redskins, Lions … we actually could have won 9 or 10 games.”
REALITY2
“[Nick] Barnett shouldn’t mess with [Olin] Kreutz. That doesn’t end well for him.”
SF BEARS FAN
“Props to [Kyle] Orton for playing a good game. Bigger props to the special teams.”
JOEY GIGGS
“Season is lost but we’ll enjoy this game–at least for a few days! Only problem is this is one-of-those ‘If, only…’ games. If only THIS team would’ve [shown] up the other 13 games.”
GILLIGAN ON THE ISLAND
BEARS HITS The Bears were without LB Lance Briggs (hip), CB Nathan Vaster (groin) and DT Darwin Walker (sprained elbow).
* Brett Favre was 2-of-7 in the first half. [ AP ]
UP NEXT
Vs. New Orleans
SUNDAY: NOON, FOX
Despite a devastating 38-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans still clings to playoff hopes in this rematch of the NFC championship game. [ AP ]
