Divisional playoffs – Panthers at Bears
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears
Soldier Field
Sunday, 15 January
1630 EST on Fox / 2130 GMT on Sky Sports Xtra
There hasn't been a scoreless tie in the NFL since 1943 but this game has to be one of the best candidates in years.
It is considered heresy to compare any defense to that of the 1985 Chicago Bears, but the Super Bowl Shufflers might just concede that this year's Bears D is up there with them. Led by linebacker Brian Urlacher, who made 98 solo tackles this year, the Bears allowed just 12.6 points per game - that's less than two touchdowns. If fifth place are Carolina, allowing 16.2. An outstanding linebacker corps has been inspired by the death of assistant coach Sam Mills last April, after a two-year battle with cancer. The entire team wears the #51, which Mills wore with the Saints and the Panthers, on the backs of their helmets. End Julius Peppers anchors a defensive line that harries quarterbacks without mercy.
These are two brilliant defenses, now what about the offenses? For Chicago, that's an easy answer: they don't have very much of one. Quarterback Rex Grossman has struggled with ankle trouble for much of the year and his replacement, rookie Kyle Orton, had the distinction of being ranked the worst passer in the entire league. Thomas Jones carried the running game but is no match for a side that neutered Giants ace Tiki Barber last weekend.
Carolina are at least two-dimensional, behind Steve Smith, the leading receiver in the league, and a rushing game of DeShaun Foster and Nick Goings, a surprise success against New York with a direct, explosive style. They will find a way to get Smith into the game even if QB Jake Delhomme is being blitzed as hard as he was in the first meeting between these two sides, when he was sacked eight times.
That November meeting brought a 13-3 victory for Chicago but Carolina will find a way to sneak past the Bears this time, in a low-scoring classic, 14-9.
NFLBriefing.com
Soldier Field
Sunday, 15 January
1630 EST on Fox / 2130 GMT on Sky Sports Xtra
There hasn't been a scoreless tie in the NFL since 1943 but this game has to be one of the best candidates in years.
It is considered heresy to compare any defense to that of the 1985 Chicago Bears, but the Super Bowl Shufflers might just concede that this year's Bears D is up there with them. Led by linebacker Brian Urlacher, who made 98 solo tackles this year, the Bears allowed just 12.6 points per game - that's less than two touchdowns. If fifth place are Carolina, allowing 16.2. An outstanding linebacker corps has been inspired by the death of assistant coach Sam Mills last April, after a two-year battle with cancer. The entire team wears the #51, which Mills wore with the Saints and the Panthers, on the backs of their helmets. End Julius Peppers anchors a defensive line that harries quarterbacks without mercy.
These are two brilliant defenses, now what about the offenses? For Chicago, that's an easy answer: they don't have very much of one. Quarterback Rex Grossman has struggled with ankle trouble for much of the year and his replacement, rookie Kyle Orton, had the distinction of being ranked the worst passer in the entire league. Thomas Jones carried the running game but is no match for a side that neutered Giants ace Tiki Barber last weekend.
Carolina are at least two-dimensional, behind Steve Smith, the leading receiver in the league, and a rushing game of DeShaun Foster and Nick Goings, a surprise success against New York with a direct, explosive style. They will find a way to get Smith into the game even if QB Jake Delhomme is being blitzed as hard as he was in the first meeting between these two sides, when he was sacked eight times.
That November meeting brought a 13-3 victory for Chicago but Carolina will find a way to sneak past the Bears this time, in a low-scoring classic, 14-9.
NFLBriefing.com
posted by MG at
9:51 PM
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