The Chicago Bears answered the bell on Sunday in Soldier Field in their playoff game against the Seahawks.
There was no fooling around, no starts and sputters, no mistakes. The Bears struck on Jay Cutler's first playoff pass, a beautifully thrown ball to Greg Olsen who scampered 58 yards to pay dirt, 3 minutes into the game. The Bears were off and running and scored 4 TD's to go ahead 28-0, when they relaxed.
Seattle scored 3 TD's in the 4th Quarter to make a 35-24 score look respectable. But the Bears were the superior team and outplayed the SeaHawks in every phase of the game. It was relatively easy and Bear fans didn't have to sweat out the outcome. It was fun to see Chicago waltz a bit. 35-10 would have been more indicative of the way the game went. But Chicago relented and allowed Seattle to score two TD's in the closing minutes. Then, the issue was all but settled, The Bears were advancing to face their rivals, the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game next Sunday in Chicago.
It's been that kind of season for these surprising Bears. Jay Cutler threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for two more, and managed the game well. He didn't make any mistakes, except for a near interception that was dropped down at the Seattle 2 yard line. Cutler had time, with good pass protection from the improved offensive line, and made nice throws.
Matt Forte and Chester Taylor moved the chains with solid running. And the Bears defense stuffed the run.
Seattle even punted to Devin Hester who looked like a pot of boiling water about to spill over. But Hester didn't break a long run. When he made a fair catch, the crowd groaned. He is one player who is demands attention.
Perhaps the Bears can keep up this surprising turn, that sees them in the NFC title game for the first time since 2006. It is good to see Urlacher and Briggs play in a game that matters. Next week, the Bears play in the title game, and who would have seen that coming a month ago?
