Mark Bradley, Bears Super Fan

Bring on the Gumbo - Bears are one victory from the Super Bowl!!!



Pro Bowler - Robbie Gould's 49-yard field goal with 10:02 left in overtime Sunday gave the Bears a thrilling 27-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks and sending Chicago into the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1988.

KEYS TO THE GAME: Bears postseason debut with Seattle.



Rex, Rex, Rex (21/38 282 1TD 1 INT)- He played a solid game! He delivered on key passes and ran a effective offense. Strong leadership with poise.

Rex Grossman’s 282 yards passing were the most among the eight NFL quarterbacks who started last weekend’s divisional playoff games. New England’s Tom Brady was second with 280, followed by New Orleans’ Drew Brees (243) and Philadelphia’s Jeff Garcia (240). Grossman’s 76.9 passer rating ranked third, trailing only Brees (96.2) and Garcia (88.2).



Berrian’s 68-yard TD reception from Grossman was the second longest in Bears history, trailing only a 75-yarder scored by Willie Gault Dec. 30, 1984 in a 23-19 win over the Redskins at Washington.



Cedric Benson (12 CAR 45 YDS) and Thomas Jones(21 CAR 66 YDS 2 TD) -- Took the perfect opportunity to take over the game and establish the running game. The first post-season touchdown of Jones’ seven-year NFL career on the game’s opening drive gave the Bears their first lead in a playoff game since Jan. 19, 2002 when they were ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles 14-13 in the third quarter en route to a 33-19 loss.

With Seattle so banged up in the secondary they signed guys off the street, that also thins out the special teams whose coverage units are one of the worst in the NFL. The receivers had key plays and missed some easy passes that are expected of them in key playoff games.

We saw a Defense of group that looked more like the one from the first 6 weeks of the season. They had key sacks and 3rd and 4th down stops.



Devin Hester - who set an NFL record with six kick returns for TDs this season, almost had another in the fourth quarter. His 63-yarder was called back for an illegal block.

I think the trouble Devin has in games comes because he’s so anxious to make a play that his fundamentals suffer. He’s trying to return the punt before finishing the catch and he’s chasing the ball rather than getting into the proper position to field it.

Aches & pains:
I was bummed to see WR Mark Bradley carted to the locker room after injuring his right ankle during the second quarter of the game, on a 5-yard pass from Rex. It looked as if the bad field condition had a big part injury. I hope he will be back for next week.

The Bears, who won their first playoff game since Jan. 1, 1995.

I'm looking forward to the Bears hosting the Saints next Sunday in the NFC championship game. With the Bears not going to the Super Bowl since January 1986 and New Orleans never has been that far.

The Bears are one game away from the Super Bowl. Yes, they have issues. But they get the next game at home and would you bet on any of the other NFC teams coming into Soldier Field and winning?

BTW: I enjoyed Peggy's special reports "Prince Adewale Ogunleye & The Lovie of the Game." I hope that she will be able to do more interviews like that this week to help pump up the players.