Bears Lead Saints 6-0 in 2nd Quarter

CHICAGO – Robbie Gould kicked his second field goal from 43 yards out early in the second quarter to give the Chicago Bears a 6-0 lead over the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship game on Sunday.

The Bears had to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Gould after a 1st-and-goal late in the first quarter after quarterback Rex Grossman continued his struggles with two incomplete passes on the possession. Grossman was 2-for-8 for 7 yards.

While various players from each side have been to the NFL’s biggest game with other teams, these are two organizations mired in, well, Super droughts. The last time the Bears played for the league title, it was in January 1986, and the stars were named Payton, Singletary, Hampton and McMahon. The defense was overwhelming and Da Coach, Mike Ditka, was overbearing.

That 21-year hiatus is distressing in Chicago, but it’s also 19 years shorter than the span New Orleans has gone without a Super Bowl trip. Those four decades make up merely all of the Saints’ existence.

It’s the biggest game of the careers of every Bears player except five with previous Super Bowl game experience: wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad; defensive backs Ricky Manning Jr., and Dante Wesley; tackle Fred Miller; and punter Brad Maynard. Backup quarterback Brian Griese was with Denver in 1999, but didn’t get on the field.

Beyond the second round of the playoffs is farther than the Saints ever have traveled. They’ve made this uplifting journey in the wake of a nomadic season where they played home games in three cities after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. They went 3-13 during 2005, and Sean Payton was hired as coach.

Payton’s work this season, when the Saints went 10-6 and won the NFC South, earned him AP Coach of the Year honors. He and his players, from All-Pro quarterback Drew Brees to rookie stars Reggie Bush and Marques Colston to longtime Saints Joe Horn and John Carney, have been vital forces in the revival of their city’s spirit.