Indianapolis Colts 29 Chicago Bears 17 (February 4, 2007)
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0 commentsBetween the week off after Championship Sunday and the Super Bowl, there is a very considerable amount of hype and analysis that has sometimes reached near-ridiculous levels.
Super Bowl XLI was a tad different.
Despite the lack of hype amid an abundance of analysis, and as with every Super Bowl, there was no dearth of storylines. For those of you who were under a rock for the past week, here they were:
- The Indianapolis Colts' offense going up against an intimidating Chicago Bears defense.
- Two African-American head coaches (Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy) squaring off in a Super Bowl for the first time ever
- Peyton Manning, fresh from his comeback against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, one win away from his first title
- Rex Grossman – which one would show up?
With all that in mind, game time came and went and all the hype and analysis ended. The excitement began when the Bears' Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for the game's first score, which was also the first of its kind in Super Bowl history. The Bears' luck continued when defensive back Chris Harris picked off Manning on Indy's first series.
It was then Rex Grossman's turn to take the offense to paydirt. Unforunately, the Bears' first offensive drive ended up a fourth-and-out after getting a measly seven yards. This would set the tone for most of the other Bears drives in the entire game.
There was a factor in this Super Bowl that was not present in the 40 that came before: the weather. As the game wore on, a steady rain fell on Dolphins Stadium. The primary example of Mother Nature wreaking havoc was a foiled extra point attempt after Reggie Wayne put the Colts on the board. The slick ball caused Hunter Smith, the holder who is primarily the punter, to mishandle the snap. Placekicker Adam Vinatieri gobbled up the ball, only to be gobbled up by the Bears defense almost immediately.
Vinatieri kicked off and instead of Hester on the return, it was Gabe Reid, who soon fumbled to put the Colts back in business. Amazingly, Manning also fumbled to put an end to the first of two instances of back-to-back fumbles.
The Bears took full advantage of the fumble thanks to a four-yard touchdown catch by Muhsin Muhammad. For the second game in a row, Peyton Manning found himself with his back to the wall early. The Colts were down, 14-6.
Fumble-itis got the Bears again with 3:05 in the first quarter, when running back Cedric Benson was hit by Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. Even worse, the impact of the hit was enough to take Benson out of the game.
The Colts got the first score of the second quarter thanks to a Vinatieri field goal from 29 yards out. From that point on, it would be pretty much all Colts. Further edification of the previous statement came on a short touchdown run by rookie running back Joseph Addai. This score put the Colts ahead, to stay, 16-14.
With over a minute left in the first half, the second case of back-to-back fumble-itis broke out when Indy's Bryan Fletcher fumbled a catch. The Bears recovered, but Grossman bobbled the snap to put the Colts offense back on the field thanks to defensive end Raheem Brock.
Vinatieri, a descendant of US General George Custer's bandmaster at the Battle of Little Bighorn, missed a 36-yard field goal that would have given Indy some more seperation going into a lengthy halftime. Thank goodness this wasn't the end of the game with the Colts behind or else it would've felt like the aftermath of that battle!
After Prince did his thing (kind of coincidental that he decided to end his set with "Purple Rain" considering the weather down there in South Florida last night), the second half began with the Colts picking up where they left off. Vinatieri nailed two consecutive field goals to extend the lead to 22-14. Not to be silenced, Bears kicker Robbie Gould, who was a construction worker at this time last year, booted a long 44-yard kick. While this got the Monsters of the Midway within five points, it would be the last score they would ever get in the game.
With the game entering into the late stages, Grossman got a sizeable 22-yard recepion from Muhammad. But, it was an Indy defensive backup who rose to the occasion. Kelvin Hayden, a second-year cornerback who subbed for an injured Nick Harper, intercepted Grossman and took it 56 yards to the house. This proved to be the final nail in the Bears' coffin; Grossman's final blow came almost two minutes later, when Bob Sanders got the interception.
In the end, Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, and anybody who was everybody involved with the Colts organization, got to celebrate the team's first title since they were in Baltimore back in 1971. Manning, named the game's most valuable player, validated all his career's rewards with the championship. First, the Patriots for the right to play in the Super Bowl, now an NFL championship to prove that he is amongst the best of our time – maybe all time.
Date
February 4, 2007
