Post by prossman on Dec 23, 2008 0:04:12 GMT -7
CHICAGO -- Alex Brown reached up and saved the Chicago Bears' season.
Brown blocked Mason Crosby's 38-yard attempt with 18 seconds to go in the fourth quarter Monday night, forcing overtime against the Green Bay Packers.
Fast Facts
• The Bears won it in OT on Robbie Gould's 38-yard field goal as Chicago won the 176th regular season meeting between the two teams, the most-played series in NFL history.
• The Bears never led during regulation and were outgained by the Packers 325-210 but scored the game's final 10 points to redeem themselves from a 37-3 Week 11 loss in Green Bay, their worst defeat of the season.
• The Bears became the eighth team in NFL history to win in OT in consecutive games and first since the 2001 Chicago squad did it in Weeks 7 and 8.
• The Packers lost their fifth straight, their longest single-season losing streak since losing the final five games of the 1990 season.
-- ESPN research
• Rapid Reaction
And once the Bears got to the extra period, reliable Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal for a 20-17 win.
Now, after the icy victory, the Bears are still in the running for the playoffs.
"We got a great push from a lot of different people. I was just the one who got my hand on it," Brown said.
"We were saying on the sidelines that we have to block it. I got through pretty good but I didn't really think that was going to happen. You just go as hard as you can and see if you can get a hand up and hopefully you can get it."
The Bears (9-6), who stayed in contention for the NFC North over the weekend when Atlanta beat Minnesota, won their third straight and rallied from a 14-3 halftime deficit to do it.
If the Bears win at Houston next Sunday and the Vikings lose at home to the Giants, Chicago captures the NFC North. Minnesota holds the tiebreaker over the Bears, so if both teams win on the final Sunday, the Vikings win the division. But Chicago is still alive for a wild-card berth, too.