Bears Send Seahawks crashing, clip the Seahawks at Soldier Field. 35-24

by Dan Peters

The clock struck midnight early for the Seattle Seahawks in this game. The Bears showed no mercy for the first 7-9 team to reach the playoffs.

The Bears took control early in Sunday’s divisional playoff game right from the outset and never looked back, setting up the battle for next weekend’s NFC championship. Like a fine wine, these Bears are getting better with age, and at the right time.

“We had to get a win with Seattle,” said coach Lovie Smith. “Now that we’ve beaten the Seahawks, it doesn’t get any better as I see it than for the NFC championship coming down to the Packers coming down to our turf this time. The Packers and Bears to finish it up, that’s how it should be.”

The Bears scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions and tallied the first 28 points en route to a 35-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field.

The tone was set early. Cutler’s first pass was caught by Greg Olsen for a 58-yard TD on the game’s third play from scrimmage. “On the first third down to get over the top like that was huge,” Olsen said. “It set the tone and got us off to a real good start. With the way our defense played—pretty much shutting them down for the most part—and the offense taking that momentum, the next thing you know it was 28-0.” Olsen had a career day, catching three passes for 113 yards. Olsen was tops this week in the playoffs.

“It starts with Jay Cutler,” Smith said. “Whether it’s running the football or making the different throws that we ask him to do, he was outstanding today. The offense really gave us a boost.”

Jay Cutler silenced his critics, passing for 274 and two touchdowns. He also ran for 43 yards and two scores in his first NFL playoff appearance. “The first one was called and the second one was a shovel pass and the guy collapsed so I had to go,” Cutler said. “When it’s there, we’ll take it. I’m not afraid to do that. The offensive line did a great job today with their front seven and giving me time to read play-action.”

Cutler later hit Kellen Davis with a 39-yard TD pass and rushed for scores of 6 and 9 yards.

Cutler posted a 111.3 passer rating, Olsen had three receptions for a career-high 113 yards, and Matt Forte rushed for 80 yards on 25 carries and caught three passes for 54 yards.

Total team effort

The Bears defense dominated in the first half, forcing Seattle to punt on its first eight possessions while holding the Seahawks to just 96 yards into the third quarter. Seattle scored two TDs in the final 2:16 after the Bears had cruised to a 35-10 lead.

“We were on the sideline most of the game,” middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said of the defense. “It’s easy to play defense when you’re not playing. Our offense converted third downs and scored a lot of points. It was fun to watch. Everything we wanted to do on offense we did.”

“We got off the field on third down,” Urlacher said. “We got pressure on the quarterback. We didn’t get any takeaways, but we did exactly what we wanted to do the whole game until the last couple drives.”

Matt Hasselbeck threw three TD passes in the fourth quarter, including two in a :52 span late in the game. The final score came on a 9-yard strike to Brandon Stokley with 1:24 remaining.But the game was over.

The Most Epic NFC Championship Game will now take place at Soldier Field next Sunday. The last and only time the Bears played the Packers in the playoffs… December 14, 1941. Exactly seven days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was a day that will live in infamy. The Epic game next Sunday will be another day the will go down in Pro Football infamy. Win or Lose, this is Super Bowl game for both teams.

With the win, the Bears will host the Green Bay Packers in next Sunday’s NFC Championship at Soldier Field. The longtime rivals have only played one postseason game, a 33-14 Bears win in a division playoff in 1941 at Wrigley Field.

The Bears advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 2006 when they defeated the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field to reach Super Bowl XLI.

“It’s been a long way back,” Urlacher said. “We’ve had some bad years there. We’ve struggled for a couple seasons. But the coaches just kept staying on us.

“We got some good players. We made some good trades and [added] good free agents, and now we’re back. We’re playing together and hopefully we’re peaking at the right time.”

Highlights of the Game