CHICAGO Afterward, Ted Thompson emerged from a tiny hallway and looked around the victorious visitors locker room, taking it all in.
He saw showboating, intercepting nose tackle B.J. Raji smiling, proudly modeling his new NFC Champions t-shirt. He heard special teams maven Jarrett Bush talking a mile a minute about the punt coverage. He watched Chad Clifton, one of only seven thirtysomethings on the 53-man roster, basking in the glow of the biggest victory of his 11-year NFL career. He watched quarterback Aaron Rodgers posing for a photo with team doctor Pat McKenzie, all smiles both. And he would have seen unflappable Sam Shields grinning from ear to ear, but the game-saving cornerback had been swallowed up by a throng of reporters and TV cameras.
Known for his stoic demeanor and milquetoast public persona, the Green Bay Packers general manager was asked what emotions were coursing through him after watching his team punch its ticket to Super Bowl XLV in North Texas with hard-fought a 21-14 victory over the NFC North rival Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Thompson paused for a moment, and smiled.
You want me to cry? he said. I think I can.
Then, he paused again.
It just feels good to get the Packers back to the Super Bowl and be a part of this, said Thompson, who incurred the wrath of roughly half of the teams passionate fan base with his decision to trade unretiring quarterback Brett Favre in the summer of 2008. Ive always said the best part of my job was a winning locker room. And a winning locker room (when) you get to go to the Super Bowl is only succeeded by the one at the Super Bowl if you get to have a winning locker room there.
Our goals not to win this game. Our goal is to win the next one.
That next one will be on Feb. 6 in Arlington, Texas, where the Packers (13-6) the first team in NFC history to advance to the Super Bowl as a No. 6 seed, winning three consecutive playoff games on the road will face the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers (14-4) for the Lombardi Trophy at Cowboys Stadium.
Im numb. Its a great feeling, said Packers coach Mike McCarthy, a born-and-bred Pittsburgher who directed his team to victory in five consecutive win-or-go-home games, including two regular-season victories over the New York Giants and the Bears to get them into the playoffs. Im just so proud of our football team.
Defense, special teams, people making plays down the stretch it was the typical Green Bay-Chicago game with everything on the line. Im very proud of our players and very proud of our coaches. Were fired up and getting ready to go to Dallas, Texas.
Theyre going there because of a defense that repeatedly came up with game-turning and game-saving plays, an offense that did just enough, and a special teams group that kept the Bears most dangerous player under wraps all game long a formula they used for much of the year while bouncing back from a 3-3 start and overcoming an avalanche of injuries that landed 15 players on season-ending injured reserve.
This year was just a different year, said Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who spent three years sitting the bench behind Favre and now in his third year as a starter is taking the franchise to its fifth Super Bowl and first since the 1997 season. We were 3-3 at one point. We won four in a row and then lost. We got hurt. We were 8-6, and we had to win five elimination games. And thats what makes it that much sweeter.
The way things started, it looked like the Packers might steamroll the Bears (12-6) on their slippery, sandy home field. Zinging darts to Greg Jennings (22, 26 yards) to start the drive and Jordy Nelson (22 yards) to set up first-and-goal, Rodgers capped a seven-play, 84-yard drive by sprinting to the left pylon on a play-action keeper to give the visitors a 7-0 lead after the Bears had won the toss and chosen to defer.
But it wasnt going to be that easy. Even after they expanded the lead to 14-0 on James Starks 4-yard touchdown run with 11:13 left in the first half, the Packers simply could not put the Bears away even after much-maligned quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a left knee injury and was unable to continue after the opening possession of the second half.
When you get down 14-0, thats tough 14-0 and you lose your starting quarterback, said Bears coach Lovie Smith, whose team split the regular-season series with the Packers, winning 20-17 at home in September before losing 10-3 at Lambeau Field in the regular-season finale. But our guys continued to fight, giving ourselves the chance to win the game at the end.
The Packers ineptitude had something to do with that. Driving for a potential score just before halftime, Rodgers low pass to wide receiver Donald Driver caromed off of Drivers left foot and into the arms of linebacker Lance Briggs for an interception at the Chicago 41-yard line, and while Shields interception on a Cutler deep ball to Johnny Knox two plays later prevented the Bears from closing the gap, the opportunity to score had been squandered.
We felt we had them on the ropes there for awhile, McCarthy said. We just couldnt get the game to a three-score game.
Then, on the packers first possession of the third quarter, Rodgers drove them to the Bears 6-yard line. Then, on third-and-goal, he inexplicably threw the ball right to linebacker Brian Urlacher, who picked it off and returned it 39 yards and might have gone for a touchdown had Rodgers not tripped Urlacher up.
It was a terrible throw. Once I threw it, I started sprinting, and I was hopeful that I was able to at least catch up to him, said Rodgers, who hadnt thrown an interception in playoff wins over Philadelphia and Atlanta. Im glad I got him down.
The Bears offense with backup Todd Collins at the helm failed to convert the turnover into points, however, going three-and-out. The Bears then went to emergency third quarterback Caleb Hanie in the final minute of the third quarter meaning Cutler and Collins could not return and Hanie directed an eight-play, 67-yard drive to get the Bears on the board with Chester Taylors 1-yard run with 12:02 left in the game.
When the Packers were forced to punt on their next two possessions, the Bears had every chance to tie the game. Instead, facing a third-and-5 at the Chicago 15 with 6:12 left, Hanie didnt see Raji dropping into coverage on a zone blitz, and when he tried to get the ball to running back Matt Forte in the left flat, Raji intervened and prematurely celebrated his interception all the way to the end zone on an 18-yard pick-six return to make it 21-7.
How fitting is it for the Green Bay Packers to win an NFC Championship with defense? the second-year nose tackle crowed afterward. For us to come out and play great defense, its a remarkable feeling.
And, it was necessary. Just when it looked like the Packers were in control, Hanie hit Earl Bennett for a 35-yard TD just four plays after Rajis score, and it was again a one-score game. And with the Packers offense still unable to get going, a three-and-out forced yet another punt.
We definitely didnt execute as well the second half, no question about that, said Clifton, who returned after suffering a neck stinger on the Packers opening offensive series. Give our defense credit, they played their butts off and kept us in the game.
And then, they won it. After punter Tim Masthay delivered a clutch perfectly placed, 58-yard, 4.13-second hang-time punt that flipped the field position from the Packers 24, the Bears had the ball at their own 29 with 2:53 to go. Then, Hanie converted a third-and-9 with a 10-yard completion to tight end Greg Olsen, and Taylor converted a fourth-and-1 at midfield.
But on fourth-and-5 from the Packers 29, Hanie went deep for Knox, only to see Shields snare his second interception of the game to send the Packers to Big D with a huge W.
Weve always felt that we are a very good football team. Now, we have a chance to achieve greatness (and) bring the Lombardi trophy back home, McCarthy said. Really, the way our season went, the trials and tribulations that we encountered, to me, that was how we were shaped. I think its made us a better football team. Its challenged our character. I think weve really grown through it.
Our players truly believe that we will be successful in Dallas, just like they truly believed that we were going to be successful here today. This was the path that was chosen for us, and I think its really shaped a hell of a football team.
"Jason Wilde" wrote: