Panthers dominate Bears, advance to NFC title game

CHICAGO — Finally, the difference between the 1985 Chicago Bears defense and the current one has been determined. The Monsters of the Midway of two decades ago never had to face Steve Smith.

Against the league's second-ranked defense, Smith had one of the biggest receiving days in postseason history as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Bears 29-21 in an NFC divisional playoff game Sunday at Soldier Field.

"Who would have thought that vaunted Chicago defense would have given up 29?" Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Smith's 12 catches for 218 yards and two touchdowns led a 434-yard offensive outburst and propelled the Panthers (13-5) into Sunday's NFC Championship Game in Seattle.

In that setting, a team that seems to thrive against the odds will face some huge challenges. The Panthers will be without feature back DeShaun Foster, who broke his right ankle in the third quarter. Nick Goings will take his place and become Carolina's third feature back of the season.

The fifth-seeded Panthers also will be fighting history against the top-seeded Seahawks. Since the NFL went to its current playoff format in 1990, no team seeded worse than fourth has made it to the Super Bowl.

Carolina already has made some history. Dating to the 2003 season, Carolina has won four straight road playoff games. That ties the mark set by Dallas (1975 and '81).

None of that would have been possible without Smith's huge performance. He scored on the game's second play, a 58-yard pass from Jake Delhomme, and never was slowed.

"I've been watching Steve since I was a freshman in college," said Carolina tackle Jordan Gross, who attended Utah with Smith. "He's been making great plays as long as I've known him. He seems to get better every game. You know he's drawing more and more attention, but he still finds a way to do what he does."

Smith's performance went a long way in erasing the memory of a 13-3 loss to Chicago in November, when the comparisons of the Bears defense to the 1985 team first surfaced. In that game, Delhomme was sacked eight times as the Panthers fell behind early and abandoned their ball-control offense.

Sunday's victory also provided vindication for an offensive line that took plenty of criticism in the previous meeting.

"Hopefully, everyone will remember this game and not the first one," Gross said.

Carolina is now 6-2 in the playoffs in its 11 years of existence, a winning percentage of .750 that is the best among all NFL teams.

When asked what happened to the Chicago defense, Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher said, "Steve Smith happened to us. He just kept making plays and we didn't."

The Panthers jumped to a 13-0 lead and answered every time Chicago rallied. Their play spoke volumes after they bit their tongues for a week. In the days leading up to the game, Chicago defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said the Panthers were overrated.

"It was tough this week not to talk with our mouth," defensive end Mike Rucker said. "It's tough to have them keep slamming you. But we kept our mouths shut. The best way to show somebody is to put the big-boy pads on, and that's what we did."

Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman missed his first five pass attempts but settled into a second-half rhythm and finished 17 of 41 for 192 yards and a 54.1 passer rating.

"They did a great job of blitzing and giving me different looks," Grossman said. "It took me a while to get adjusted and see exactly what they were doing."

During one stretch of four possessions, the Bears produced 186 yards and three touchdowns to pull within 23-21 with 12:23 left.

"It has been a crazy year," Grossman said. "I'm going to do everything I can physically and mentally to come back and be the best quarterback in the league. This year is over. It's disappointing because we had such a great opportunity."