Indianapolis has the offense, Chicago the defense. When all is said and done, however, tonight in Super Bowl XLI, the Bears will be crowned National Football League champions because of their defense.
Chicago enters the game with the fifth best defense in the league. Indianapolis is 21st in the league. While the Colts have a much better offense than the Bears (third in the NFL compared to 15th for Chicago), the Bears can control the game by running the football against Indianpolis' porous rush defense, which surrendered a league-worst 173.0 yards per game in 2006.
Bears doubters have said all season long that Rex Grossman is a liability. Well, here is Chicago on the verge of winning the league title. Because no one believes in Grossman, there will be little pressure on him to do well compared to Peyton Manning, whom many are picking to lead the Colts past the Bears tonight.
Grossman will not have to play a perfect game in order for the Bears to win. All Chicago needs to do is run the football effectively and allow Grossman to complete high-percentage passes. By controlling the ball, Chicago's defense and special teams will take care of the rest as far as field position, and making game-turning plays.
For the Bears to win is good for the NFC North Division. It will give the Green Bay Packers that much more confidence, knowing that they beat the eventual Super Bowl champions on their home turf in the final game of the regular season. A Bears victory tonight also will set them up as a target of all of their opponents next season, making it that much more of a challenge to repeat as division champions. This could allow the Packers to reclaim the division crown and return to the NFC playoffs.
Prediction: Bears 24, Colts 20
Todd Korth
Todd Korth is managing editor of PackerReport.com and Packer Report magazine. E-mail him at packrepted@aol.com.