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Dan Peters
Sports Editor
Oak Park
Journal
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Sunday,
November 26, 2006
Bears Rally Falls Short; Patriots overcome five Turnovers in a close
shave at Foxboro
by Dan Peters
The Chicago Bears were looking to go 3-0 on their longest road trip
since 1999, and possibly capture their second consecutive NFC North
title. Tom Brady & the New England Patriots had the last laugh,
beating the Bears 17-13.
The Bears headed into New England having the distinction of being the
NFC’s top-seeded team. The defense looked great and made key plays to
keep the Bears close, but the offense turned the ball over three times
during key drives. Game over.
Rex Grossman looked sharp at times; testing the stout New England
defense, but early on, the Bears rushing game was non-existent. This
forced Grossman to throw deep, and as in the past, resulted in
interceptions.
The Bears committed four turnovers, three on interceptions by Asante
Samuel. The final interception was the killer, coming with 1:46 left in
the game. “This is prime time against the team with the best record,”
Samuel said. “They like to go deep and it was something we were
expecting.”
The Bears didn’t expect to play so sloppy
“Our defense took the ball, and did a good job of that and we didn’t do
such a good job with it.” Said Grossman.
You can hear the fans in Chicago chanting “Griese, Griese” Was
Rex Grossman that bad? Or did the Patriots just react and play the ball
better? A combination of both.
“It’s tough to win when you have four turnovers,” Said Lovie Smith. He
plans to stand by Rex Grossman.
Tom Brady, on the other hand, looked like vintage “Brady” even though
some of his own passes were intercepted by the Bears swarming defense.
Again, like Grossman, not all were his fault. Both defenses made key
plays to force turnovers, with Patriots turning over the ball
and uncharacteristic five times.
Both defenses had the quarterbacks scrambling and forcing plays – which
contributed to the nine turnovers in this defensive battle.
No Fear – Tom Brady showed his ability and lack of fear by running the
ball when none of his receivers were open. On a third-and-nine
play at the Bears 14, Brady took off running for 11 yards, an
impressive run that left Brian Urlacher in the dust. “I’ll tell my kids
one day I slipped Brain Urlacher,” Brady said smiling. “They won’t
believe me.”
On a later drive in the fourth quarter, Brady rushed three yards to the
Bears 3 yard line, setting up a 2-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin
Watson that gave the Patriots the lead for good 17-10
All the Bears could muster up after that was a Robbie Gould field goal,
cutting the lead to four points at 17-13.
Brady contributed the sloppy play a result of the new playing surface.
“Must be the turf. I don’t think this would have happened a few weeks
ago.”
All good things must come to an end…
Robbie Gould’s team record of 26 consecutive field goals, ended when
his 45 yard attempt was deflected by Richard Seymour. The missed field
goal was set up on a Bears penalty which forced Gould to try from five
yards deeper.
Gould connected later to give the Bears their first points, narrowing
the gap to 7-3
Notables from today’s game..
Junior “Say Ouch” .. Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, who
recently came out of retirement, suffered a broken arm in the second
quarter of the game. Not only is he out for the season, it may well be
a career ending injury.
As bad as the Bears played, they had some impressive numbers today.
Bernard Berrian was the leading receiver with 104 yards on five
receptions. Thomas Jones had 99 yards rushing on 23 carries, impressive
considering he was nearly stopped cold during the first half.
Both of Chicago’s losses have come at the hand of AFC teams -- Miami
and now New England.
Despite the loss, the Bears still hold a five game lead in the NFC
North, and a two game advantage over the rest of the NFC.
No Place like home … The Bears will return home to face the Minnesota
Vikings at Soldier field next Sunday. A win here and some help from
Green Bay, the Bears can wrap up the NFC North in front of the home
crowd.
© Oak Park Journal photo
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