No Bad News: Bears Survive in Overtime
Grossman Does Just Enough; Saints Are Next: Bears 27, Seahawks 24

By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 15, 2007

CHICAGO, Jan. 14 -- The defense didn't fall apart, although it teetered at times. Rex Grossman didn't single-handedly lose the game, even after some misdirected throws occasionally made it appear that he would.

All those things that threatened to ruin the Chicago Bears' season showed up with just enough regularity Sunday at Soldier Field to make things close and interesting. But place kicker Robbie Gould nailed a 49-yard field goal just under five minutes into overtime to beat the Seattle Seahawks, 27-24, in an NFC semifinal and allow the fretting locals to breathe just a little easier for a week.

"We won," middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said in a Bears locker room in which the mood was more one of relief than jubilation. "That's how I evaluate it."

The Bears will host the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship game Sunday. They may be the top seed in the NFC playoffs but rarely has a team coming off a 13-win regular season entered the playoffs appearing so vulnerable, thanks to a once-dominant defense that's still reeling from losing safety Mike Brown and tackle Tommie Harris to injuries and a quarterback, in Grossman, who doesn't want his interceptions to be lonely so he throws them in bunches.

Three times Sunday, the Bears bolted to a one-touchdown lead over the fourth-seeded Seahawks. And three times, they gave up the lead. The Seahawks got tailback Shaun Alexander's second touchdown run of the game to move in front, 24-21, in the third quarter. But the Bears got even on Gould's 41-yard field goal with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation, and Grossman's 30-yard completion to wide receiver Rashied Davis on their first possession of overtime set up Gould's wind-aided winning kick.

"I had the wind at my back," Gould said. "I could have gone up to like 53 yards. I really don't get nervous. As a kicker, you can't get nervous."

The Seahawks, the defending NFC champions, wrapped up their season eight days after they beat the Dallas Cowboys in a first-round playoff game when Cowboys holder Tony Romo mishandled the snap on a 19-yard field goal attempt in the closing minutes.

"I would say, to use the old cliche, it's too bad anybody had to lose the game," Seahawks Coach Mike Holmgren said. "Particularly me. . . . He's a Pro Bowl kicker. He drilled it. He hit it pretty good. But you never know. We won last week and it was a two-yard field goal."

Grossman had an uneven performance. He completed 21 of 38 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown, a 68-yarder on an on-target deep throw to wideout Bernard Berrian in the second quarter. But he lost a fumble on a second-quarter sack. He threw an interception on a tipped pass on a third-and-goal play from the Seahawks 10-yard line early in the fourth quarter with the Bears trailing by three points, and he nearly had a batted pass intercepted by Seattle defensive tackle Rocky Bernard in the final two minutes of regulation. Chicago tailback Thomas Jones made a game-saving play by knocking the ball from Bernard's hands.

"That's going to happen throughout the course of a game," Grossman said. "You're going to win some situations and lose some. You have to weather those storms and you have to take advantage when you have an opportunity. For the most part, that's what we did today. . . . The most important thing is we won."

Said Urlacher: "All year long it's been up and down for him. People have taken their shots at him. But he's a winner. No matter what his stats are, he's a winner. . . . We have confidence in Rex. He's been there for us all year. He may have a few bad games but we know what he is. Our head coach knows what he is. All we have to do is protect him and run the ball like we did today."

Jones ran for two touchdowns for the Bears, including a seven-yard dash in the final minute of the first half when Coach Lovie Smith left his offense on the field for a fourth-and-one gamble. Alexander ran for 108 yards on 26 carries for the Seahawks, including a four-yard touchdown in the second quarter on fourth and one. Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck connected with wide receiver Nate Burleson for a second-quarter touchdown but also threw a fourth-quarter interception on the play after Grossman's interception.

"As good as we felt last week, it's that tough this week," Holmgren said. "The finality of losing a playoff game anywhere along the line -- whether it's last week or this week or the Super Bowl -- hurts."

All seemed well for the Bears when Grossman got a break on the game's opening drive and got a 37-yard completion to Davis on a pass that slipped through the hands of Seahawks cornerback Jordan Babineaux. That led to Jones's nine-yard touchdown, but the Seahawks got even on Hasselbeck's 16-yard scoring pass to Burleson on the opening play of the second quarter. The Grossman-to-Berrian touchdown came on the next offensive snap, but Grossman lost his fumble later in the quarter and Alexander maneuvered his way around Urlacher on his fourth-down touchdown.

Jones's second touchdown put the Bears ahead at the half. The Seahawks replied with place kicker Josh Brown's 40-yard field goal into the wind in the third quarter, followed by Alexander's second touchdown on a 13-yard scamper on third and 10. Grossman and Hasselbeck traded their interceptions early in the fourth quarter, and Devin Hester had a punt return for a touchdown negated by an illegal block before the Bears drove to Gould's tying field goal. The Seahawks got the ball first in overtime but couldn't move and rookie Ryan Plackemeier was pressured into an 18-yard punt.

"Last year we were in this position and we weren't able to finish the season the way we wanted," Smith said. "We talked about all we've gone through this year and how it would be a shame not to finish the game on a high note."