Chicago Bears defeat New Orleans Saints 39 - 14
Chicago Bears head to Super Bowl XLI as New Orleans Saints falter in Chicago
New Orleans Saint's defense, running game & passing attack all come up short: Saints lose to Bears
January 21, 2007 - CHICAGO, Illinois.
The Chicago Bears defeat the New Orleans Saints 39-14 as the Saints falter in the three major parts of the game: New Orleans defense, running game & passing attack all come up short.
The Chicago Bears romped past the New Orleans Saints in true Bears fashion, with big plays on defense and a steady dose of the running game in the snow and sleet of Soldier Field. The Chicago Bears running back Thomas Jones was truely outstanding and the Chicago Bears defense, with All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher, was very steady.
The Chicago Bears (15-3) will play Indianapolis Colts (15-4) in Miami, Florida for Super Bowl XLI.
For a moment, in the third quarter, the New Orleans Saints looked very good. Reggie Bush caught an electrifying 88-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees and dashed to the end zone to pulled the Saints within two points, 16-14. Rookie Running Back Reggie Bush beat Chris Harris off the line, ignoring the slippery surface, Reggie extended for Brees' looping pass. Then Reggie Bush sped down the left sideline and, at midfield, used one of those Heisman jukes to pass Danieal Manning. As Reggie Bush neared the end zone, Reggie turned and pointed tauntingly at the hopelessly trailing Linebacker Briean Urlacher before somersaulting into the end zone. But from there, Urlacher and the Bears' defense took over. The Chicago Bears, who led the league with 44 takeaways, forced four New Orleans Saints turnovers. Urlacher said, "This is why we play the game, to get to the Super Bowl and win. This overshadows everything."
The Chicago Bears offense was good enough to win big. Rex Grossman made no mistakes and was 11 for 26 for 144 yards.
Thomas Jones rushed for 123 yards and scored two touchdowns.
The sloppy footing was an issue through-out the game, particularly once the cold rain, followed by snow and sleet, began falling. Areas of the Soldier Fields turf were gashed by halftime as runners, receivers and returners kept on slipping.
Marques Colston had several slips and several more dropped passes in the game, but caught 5 passes for 63 yards with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees.
Drew Brees' safety occured when he threw the ball away, under pressure in the New Orleans Saints end zone and still in the pocket. It was a bitter conclusion to the New Orleans Saints remarkable turnaround from the 2005 nomadic 3-13 season in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's destruction to this 11-7 winning season. As the city of New Orleans rebuilds, the New Orleans Saints team has provided hope where there was none before. This was the New Orleans Saints first trip this far into the playoffs for the 40-year-old franchise, previously known as the Aints, whose fans wore paper bags on their heads because the New Orleans Saints team was so terrible.
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| Jan 21, 2007 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
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Final |
| Saints |
0 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
| Bears |
3 |
13 |
2 |
21 |
39 |
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1st Quarter
 Bears FG Robby Gould 19 yd Field Goal (Drive: 11 plays, 35 yards in 4:44)
2nd Quarter
Bears FG Robby Gould 19 yd Field Goal (Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards in 1:53)
Bears FG Robby Gould 19 yd Field Goal (Drive: 8 plays, 43 yards in 3:25)
Bears TD Thomas Jones 2 yd run (Robby Gould kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 69 yds in 3:55)
 Saints TD Marques Colston 13 yd pass from Drew Brees (J.Carney kick good) (Drive: 8 plays, 73 yd, 1:10)
3rd Quarter
Saints TD Reggie Bush 88 yd pass from Drew Brees (John Carney kick good) (Drive: 2 plays, 93 yd, 0:53)
Bears Safety Penalty on D.Brees enforced in end zone for a Safety
4th Quarter
Bears TD B.Berrian 33 yd pass from Rex Grossman (Robby Gould kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 85 yds in 2:24)
Bears TD C.Benson 12 yd run (Robby Gould kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 26 yds in 2:04)
Bears TD Thomas Jones 15 yd run (Robby Gould kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 30 yds in 3:02)
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