In winter's chill, the Green Bay Packers fought back a late Chicago Bears rally and won the NFC championship game, 21-14 on Sunday. In a football game that felt like it had games within games, the Bears looked over-matched on the verge of being blown out, trailing 14-0 at half-time. But, the Bears defense rose up and gave Chicago a chance to win the game. Green Bay gained most of its 350 yards in the first half, and gained only 105 yards in the second half. The Bears, meanwhile, rallied behind a gutty performance by Caleb Hanie, a third string QB, who saw limited action this season. Hanie drove the team down the field and threw a TD pass to Earl Bennett to make a 21-14 game with about 4:50 to play. The Bears got the ball back but Hanie was intercepted by Green Bay as the Bears were driving to score.
What looked like a possible rout turned into a taut football game. Brian Urlacher intercepted Aaron Rodgers deep in Bears territory and ran the ball back to the Bears 45. Rodgers made the tackle to trip up Urlacher. The Bears didn't quit or curl up in a ball. They fought back and made a game of it. And, put a little anxiety into the Packers march to the Super Bowl. Green Bay played well, and looked impressive early, but the Bears showed they could compete with them.
Cutler's knee injury affected the outcome. The Bears didn't have the firepower on offense. And, the Packers did a great job of keeping the ball away from Devin Hester, the Bears punt returner. Perhaps the most valuable player of the game was the Packers' punter Mashtay. He made pinpoint kicks to keep the ball in the air long enough so that Green Bay could cover the return and stop Hester.
The Bears lost to a team that has weapons and plays solid defense. The Pack wiill score points. But Chicago held them to 14 points, not including the interception. And, that is pretty darn good.
