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Bears end Saints fairytale to reach Super Bowl
2007-01-21
The Chicago Bears advanced to the Super Bowl with a 39-14 win over New Orleans in the NFC championship game on Sunday, bringing an end to the Saints' storybook season. Chicago returns to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1986 when they won the Vince Lombardi trophy and will play either the New England Patriots or Indianapolis Colts, who meet in the NFC title game later on Sunday. Leading the Bears to Miami for the February 4 championship game will be Lovie Smith, who becomes the first black head coach to take a team to the Super Bowl. "Being the first black coach to lead his team, of course the players knew about it and wanted to help us make history today," Smith told reporters. "But I'll feel even better when I'm the first black coach to hold up the championship trophy." The key to victory on a snowy day at Soldier Field was a ferocious Bears defense that produced four turnovers and a pivotal safety, holding quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints' high-octane offense to 14 points. With quarterback Rex Grossman struggling to get Chicago's offense in gear, linebacker Brian Urlacher and the Bears defense took charge, recovering two fumbles that led to a pair of Robbie Gould field goals and a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter. Another Gould field goal stretched the Bears' lead before running back Thomas Jones powered over from the two-yard line to put Chicago up 16-0. With time running out in the half the Saints hit back with a 73-yard drive, culminating in Brees hitting Marques Colston with a 13-yard touchdown strike to give New Orleans some much-needed momentum heading into the break. TURNAROUND The Saints exploded out of the blocks after the intermission, Brees finding Reggie Bush with a short pass and the Heisman Trophy winner racing 88 yards for the touchdown to cut the deficit to 16-14. But again the Bears defense stepped up and recorded a two-point safety by forcing an under-pressure Brees to throw the ball away in his own end zone. "It was big," said Urlacher. "Any time we get a chance to score on defense it's big." Back in control, the Bears put the game out of reach with a trio of fourth-quarter touchdowns, Grossman connecting with Bernard Berrian on a 33-yard touchdown pass and Jones and Cedric Benson also finding the end zone. Grossman, who has come under severe criticism from the Chicago media and fans for his inconsistent play this season, completed just two of eight passes for seven yards in the first quarter. But he redeemed himself with an error-free, if unspectacular, performance the rest of the way and a smiling Grossman high-fived the cheering crowd as he made his way off the field. "It doesn't get any better than this right now," said Grossman. "Redemption...that's for you guys to write about. "We've got one more game, hopefully one more win and Super Bowl champions." Despite the loss, the Saints' season will be remembered as one of the greatest turnarounds in NFL history after going 3-13 last season. Without a home after Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, the Saints' fairytale march to the brink of their first Super Bowl inspired a city still struggling to overcome the devastation 18 months later.
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