The NFC is about to have a different Super Bowl representative for
the seventh straight year.
Thanks to the
Bears' overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday and the Saints' well-grounded
win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFC held to regular-season form, and the top two
seeds will play for the right to represent the conference in the Super Bowl in Miami on
Feb. 4. The Bears will be trying to get back for the first time since winning the title in
January 1986, while the Saints are seeking their first trip to the championship game.
One of those
teams will become the latest champ in a revolving-door NFC that has seen six different
teams go to the Super Bowl in the past six seasons: Seattle, Philadelphia, Carolina, Tampa
Bay, St. Louis and the New York Giants.
This NFC
title game pits two rising powers -- Lovie Smith's defense-driven Bears, who are 24-8 in
Smith's two seasons, and first-year coach Sean Payton's upstart Saints, who have made it
this far for the first time in the team's 40 seasons of existence.
The Saints
have become the feel-good fairy tale of the 2006 season, representing the rebirth of New
Orleans a year after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Led by Drew Brees,
Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, Payton's team won 10 games and then beat the
Philadelphia Eagles 27-24 last weekend, making New Orleans the first team in NFL history
to reach a conference championship game after losing 13 games the previous season.
The Saints
had the league's No. 1 offense this season, and McAllister showed against the Eagles that
he is completely back from a torn ACL that cost him 10 games last season. He ran all over
the Eagles, gaining 143 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
"Our No.
1 concern is stopping Deuce McAllister," Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said.
"We want to stop the run every week. So he is our main concern right now, especially
after what he did last week. When they throw the ball, we'll rally to it and hopefully
make the tackles. We have got to stop the run. Reggie is an explosive guy. He catches the
ball well, and he's pretty good in the open field. So we've just got to try and get 11
guys to the football and make some plays.
"It's a big challenge for us, the things they do on offense," Urlacher said.
"They move the ball around a lot. They have a great quarterback, pretty good running
backs, good receivers and a good offensive line. It's a huge challenge for us."
The Bears
survived their first challenge against the Seahawks, escaping with a 27-24 win when Robbie
Gould nailed a 49-yard field goal in overtime. The win was Chicago's first in its past
three home playoff games, including a 29-21 loss to Carolina last postseason.
Embattled
quarterback Rex Grossman played well enough against Seattle, hitting Bernard Berrian with
a 68-yard touchdown pass and throwing for 282 yards on 21-of-38 passing.
Many Chicago
fans had been concerned about his uneven performance during the season and were worried he
might hurt the Bears in the postseason. He did turn the ball over twice against Seattle,
throwing an interception and fumbling, but he made big throws when he had to, like the
third-down, 31-yard strike to Rashied Davis in overtime that set up Gould's field goal.
Smith has
defended Grossman and stuck by him all season, and Urlacher did the same this week.
"Rex was
14-3 at the start of this year. I don't know how many guys in the NFL can say that this
season," the All-Pro linebacker said. "I don't care what his numbers are, what
people write about him. He's 14-3. That's enough said for me. I'm just tired of people
talking about him, especially our media around here. The dude has won 14 games at the
start of this year. That's pretty good if you ask me."
So is Grossman's supporting cast, which includes a strong running game. Thomas Jones ran
for two touchdowns against the Seahawks, and he and Cedric Benson will need to play well
against the Saints to take pressure off Grossman.
The Saints have played well on the road, going 6-2, but their defense has been prone to
surrendering big plays; the Eagles struck with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Garcia
to Donte' Stallworth and a 62-yard scoring run by Brian Westbrook. With that in
mind, this shapes up as a similarly offensive game.
"This is the matchup we wanted," Chicago cornerback Nathan Vasher said.
"It's great for us, great for TV, everything. We wanted to see the highest-seeded
team and beat the best."
SAINTS AT A GLANCE
Offense:
391.5 yards per game (first in NFL). Passing: 281.4 (first). Rushing: 110.1
(19th).
Defense:
307.3 (11th). Passing: 178.4 (third). Rushing: 128.9 (23rd).
Individual
leaders
QB Drew
Brees: 64.3 percent, 4,418 yards, 26 touchdowns, 11 interceptions.
RB Deuce
McAllister: 1,057 yards, 4.3 average, 10 touchdowns.
RB Reggie
Bush: 565 yards, 3.6 average, six TDs; 88 receptions, 742 yards, two TDs.
WR Marques
Colston: 70 receptions, 1,038 yards, eight TDs.
WR Devery
Henderson: 32 receptions, 745 yards, five TDs.
K John
Carney: 115 points, 23 of 25 field goals.
KR Michael
Lewis: 24.7 average.
PR Reggie
Bush: 7.7 average, one touchdown.
LB Scott
Shanle: 98 tackles, four sacks.
LB Scott
Fujita: 96 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, seven passes defensed.
DE Will
Smith: 10.5 sacks.
DE Charles
Grant: Six sacks.
CB Mike
McKenzie: Two interceptions, 10 passes defensed.
Injury
report: TE Mark Campbell (knee), WR Joe Horn (groin) and SS Omar Stoutmire (hip) are
questionable.
BEARS AT A GLANCE
Offense:
325.0 (15th). Passing: 205.1 (14th). Rushing: 119.1 (15th).
Defense:
294.1 (fifth). Passing: 194.8 (11th). Rushing: 99.4(sixth).
Individual
leaders
QB Rex
Grossman: 54.6 percent, 3,193 yards, 23 touchdowns, 20 interceptions.
RB Thomas
Jones: 1,210 yards, 4.1 average, six TDs.
RB Cedric
Benson: 647 yards, 4.1 average, six TDs.
WR Muhsin
Muhammad: 60 receptions, 863 yards, five TDs.
WR Bernard
Berrian: 51 receptions, 775 yards, six TDs.
TE Desmond
Clark: 45 receptions, 626 yards, six TDs.
K Robbie
Gould: 143 points, 32 of 36 field goals.
RS Devin
Hester: 26.4 on kickoffs with two TDs, 12.8 on punts with three TDs.
LB Brian
Urlacher: 142 tackles, three interceptions.
LB Lance
Briggs: 134 tackles, four forced fumbles, two interceptions.
CB Charles
Tillman: 81 tackles, five interceptions, 14 passes defensed.
CB Ricky
Manning Jr.: 53 tackles, two sacks, five interceptions, 10 passes defensed.
DE Alex
Brown: Seven sacks, two interceptions.
DE Mark
Anderson: 12 sacks.
Injury
report: WR Mark Bradley (ankle) is questionable and DE Adewale Ogunleye (quadricep) is
probable.
Best bet:
The Seahawks gashed the Bears on the ground, and the Saints will follow suit while also
forcing Grossman into key errors. New Orleans, 31-24.
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