Grading the Bears
Rating: 5 footballs (excellent) to 1 football (poor)
GAME BALL: Jay Cutler
On the first postseason pass of his career, Jay Cutler lobbed a 58-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen. Though he ruined his perfect efficiency rating (and aesthetic rating) by firing a few loose throws thereafter, the Bears QB chucked 2 touchdown passes and ran for 2 more scores while amassing 317 total yards. Oh, and he finished with no turnovers.
QUARTERBACK (4 footballs)
If Seattle safety Jordan Babineaux had better hands, then he intercepts Cutler's first-quarter pass near the goal line and perhaps runs it back the other way for a 7-7 tie. But he dropped the gift and Cutler recovered to hit 15 of 28 throws for 274 yards. Cutler also confounded the Seahawks with his scrambles.
RUNNING BACKS (4 footballs)
On a frozen-yet-slippery field not engineered for speedsters with moves, Matt Forte and Chester Taylor switched gears and combined to pound their way for 124 yards on 36 carries. Forte also took 2 screen passes for a total of 45 yards.
RECEIVERS (4 footballs
Greg Olsen set the tone with his 58-yard and 33-yard catches in the first quarter. He also made the point-of-attack block on Taylor's rushing score. Third tight end Kellen Davis, who caught 1 pass in the regular season, took advantage of the scheme for 2 catches that included a 39-yard fourth-quarter score punctuated with a spike-dunk over the crossbar.
OFFENSIVE LINE (3 footballs)
Olin Kreutz claimed after the game that Matt Forte deserves more credit than the line for his performances. That said, Forte usually enjoyed the benefit of a good push from the line. On Chester Taylor's TD run that made it 14-0, RG Robert Garza pulled and had nobody to block. Jay Cutler took 3 first-half sacks, but he stayed clean after the break.
DEFENSIVE LINE (4.5 footballs)
Tommie Harris enjoyed his first 2-sack performance since Nov. 23, 2008, at St. Louis. It looked like Harris could have shared the first sack with Julius Peppers and the second with Israel Idonije, but why quibble? Peppers drew one holding penalty that negated a first down and felt he deserved several more calls. DTs Anthony Adams and Matt Toeaina clogged up the middle as Marshawn Lynch rushed 4 times for 2 yards.
LINEBACKERS (4 footballs)
On the second play of the day, OLB Pisa Tinoisamoa flung his body into the line to blow up a Marshawn Lynch run on second-and-1 that became a 2-yard loss. The Seahawks were forced to punt as the Bears set the tone right there. Brian Urlacher earned a TFL among his 7 solos while Lance Briggs, who didn't play against Seattle the first time, put up 6 solos.
SECONDARY (4 footballs)
Given the chance to play more “press” coverage, cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings glued themselves to Mike Williams and Ben Obamanu and Brandon Stokley and let little happen while the game mattered. They combined for 5 pass breakups while Major Wright broke up a pass when he smacked Williams.
SPECIAL TEAMS (3.5 footballs)
Nick Roach set the tone for kickoff coverage by dropping Leon Washington at the 24-yard line on Seattle's first two returns. The punt coverage was even better as gunner Corey Graham got in perfect position to down two Brad Maynard punts near the sideline: One was at Seattle's 1-yard line in the second quarter and the other at Seattle's 5 in the fourth. Seahawks punter Jon Ryan tried to neutralize Devin Hester by putting backspin on every punt, as if he were dropping it in the coffin corner. It kept Hester largely in check, but the Seahawks averaged just 31.7 net yards on 9 punts.
COACHING (4 footballs)
Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli and his guys put together an aggressive package that limited Seattle to 111 total yards and 3 points through the first three quarters. Mike Martz trotted out some nice wrinkles (Cutler draw; Olsen skinny post) and some weird calls (Forte's INT out of the Wildcat when ahead 28-3). Special teams coach Dave Toub had his guys ready for KR Leon Washington.