NEWSLETTER
Before we see the 4-10 Chicago Bears take on the 5-9 Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, let’s revisit a happier time, the 2006 NFC divisional-round matchup between Chicago and Seattle at Soldier Field.
With a trip to the NFC Championship on the line, Lovie Smith’s 13-3 Bears played host to Mike Holmgren’s Seattle Seahawks, who squeaked into the playoffs with a 9-7 record and earned a shot at the Bears with a 21-20 victory over Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round. Thomas Jones opened the scoring for the Bears with a nine-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter to make it 7-0 Chicago before a wild second quarter that featured the bulk of the scoring in this contest.
Matt Hasselback kicked things off by hooking up with Nate Burleson on a 16-yard touchdown pass on the quarter’s first play to even things up at a touchdown-a-piece in Chicago. Just 18 seconds later, Rex Grossman hit Bernard Berrian for a 68-yard touchdown to put the Bears back on top.
Rex Grossman's 68 yard TD pass to Bernard Berrian in the 2006 Divisional Playoff Game.pic.twitter.com/lbSniAz41I
— Bears Clips (@BearsCIips) June 18, 2021
Seattle and Chicago continued to trade touchdowns late in the second quarter, first with a Shaun Alexander score to tie the game with 2:29 to play in the first half, and then a Thomas Jones rushing touchdown that put the Bears up 21-14 at the half.
The Seahawks dominated the third quarter with a field goal by Josh Brown and a touchdown by Shaun Alexander that put Seattle ahead 24-21 heading into the final frame, but this is where Robbie Gould went from construction contractor to Chicago sports legend by hitting a pair of 40-plus yard field goals to send the Bears to the NFC Championship for the first time in two decades. I’ll let you watch the ending for yourself!
#OTD in 2007, Robbie Gould swung twice to hit field goals to help the Bears tie, and then defeat the Seahawks 27-24 to reach the NFC Championship Game. On the same day in 2006, Gould was pounding nails as a construction worker. pic.twitter.com/k56oRouSMj
— Midway Minute (@MidwayMinute) January 14, 2021
Watch the highlights here!
