MIAMI -- Good Rex. Bad Rex. In the end, it was No Rex that finished the Chicago Bears.
Rex Grossman, the once and still maligned quarterback, couldn't make game-changing plays because the Bears couldn't get Peyton Manning off the field. OK, so you can call Kelvin Hayden's fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown a game-changing play, but that was about it.
|
|
| The Bears defense yields 191 rushing yards. (US Presswire) |
"We had our opportunities," defensive coordinator Ron Rivera said, "but we didn't take advantage of them. The big thing is that I was disappointed with the way we tackled, but give them (the Colts) credit. They did some things."
No, they did a lot of things. They completed passes. They ran the ball. They kept the ball.
When you look back at what changed Super Bowl XLI it wasn't Grossman. He never had the chance. The Bears entered the game determined to hammer Indianapolis with the run, and they tried. Sure, Grossman took a couple of deep shots early, but, for the most part, he was confined to short passes and handoffs to Thomas Jones.
And when that didn't work it led to a lot of three-and-outs. In fact, of their first nine possessions, the Bears had four snaps on two of them and no more than three on the rest. And that's not how you beat Manning and the Colts.
"It will be an interesting game to talk about to see exactly what happened," cornerback Nathan Vasher said.
No, it won't. We know what happened. Indy made the plays that Chicago couldn't. And that was a key entering this game. The Bears would win by leaning on the league's fifth-rated defense and hoping it could hold off Manning and the Colts rushing attack.
Unfortunately, it failed on both counts. Manning was the MVP, not because he threw up big numbers but because he kept series after series alive, and the Colts ran for a playoff-high 191 yards -- with Dominic Rhodes producing 113.
The key series was the first one of the second half. Ahead 16-14, the Colts held the ball for half of the quarter with a 13-play, 56-yard drive climaxed by an Adam Vinatieri field goal. It didn't matter that Indy couldn't produce a touchdown; what mattered is that the Colts wore down their opponents.
"Their patience surprised me," Rivera said. "Give Manning credit. He kept his patience, managed the game and, when he had to, won the game."
The Colts had four series with three or more first downs; the Bears had none. The Colts had six series with seven or more snaps; the Bears had one. I think you get the idea. People may want to pin this one on Grossman -- again -- but he wasn't on the field long enough to make a difference.
