As you were pumping your body full of tryptophan, tin-can-shaped cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, you were doubtlessly wondering, "Can we just fast forward past the three useless games today to Sunday's Super Bowl preview?"
Maybe you were calling it a Super Bowl rematch, but that was 21 years ago.
Anyway, the only game worth watching this week is the Battle of the Bands: Tom Terrific and the Belichick Beauties against Big Bad Brian and the Ursa Majors (thanks to my Senate legislative assistant buddy for that second one).
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As for who's going to win this game, everybody is split, both on the Web and . I admit I picked the Patriots, but that's mostly because I didn't want to pick the Bears every week, and this week is as good as any of the remaining to pick a loss. Regardless of what happens this game, I think the Bears will finish 14-2. I mean, c'mon, if they win this, you want to tell me they won't space out at least once down the stretch (especially if they have home field wrapped up in time to stick it under the Christmas tree)?
And on the clinching subject, the Vikings have a 12-point lead and the ball at the 2-minute warning, so it doesn't look like the Bears will clinch their division today.
You know the drill by now, auto refresh and comment board on the right, e-mail me, weather, injuries.
Okay, football soon.
FIRST QUARTER
Joe Buck just said, "It's interesting, the Bears, at 9-1, still feel like they have to prove something." Um, no, they pretty much feel, to a man, that they've proven themselves. Their so-called "measuring stick" win just keeps getting pushed back a couple weeks. In fact, if the Bears win today, I'm sure we'll hear about how the Pats had to play on a new surface and without Rodney Harrison so it still wasn't a win against a "real" opponent. Kickoff goes inside the five and Laurence Maroney tries to turn the corner and sort of does, getting run out at the 27. Corey Dillon runs outside left and gets three before stepping out of bounds. Brady then skips a pass to Ben Watson on the right side about three yards short of the sticks. Buck just said the Patriots offensive line is underrated. I don't know that anything about the Patriots is underrated. It is, at most, rated. Brady's pass is out of the reach of, I believe, Reche Caldwell. Charles Tillman almost blocks the punt and Devin Hester catches it fairly at the 25.
Rex Grossman hits Muhsin Muhammad on the right side for five yards, then Grossman leads Thomas Jones too much on a swing pass, it falls incomplete. Grossman tries to hit Berrian on a quick slant and Asante Samuel jumps the route and picks it off at the Bears' 40, where Berrian makes sure he doesn't return it.
Troy Aikman said the pass needed to be on Berrian's back hip there. Run up the middle gets three yards, then Brady hits Ben Watson over the middle for a first down plus a couple to the 26. Brady over the middle to Watson and Tank Johnson almost picks it off. You read that right, 2nd and 10. Maroney has a hole off guard right that leads to a roar from the crowd, but the crowd realizes why the Bears are so good, as the hole closes up for a gain of only two. Someone's signal involved the name "Sarah" there, and Buck asks Aikman who Sarah is. Troy doesn't know. Brady has time, hits Watson inside the 5, then Todd Johnson lights him up, popping the ball into the air, and Tillman comes down with it and returns it to the 6.
Johnson's helmet popped that out, I think. Jones gets a yard up the middle. On second down he has nothing up the middle, cuts back left and gets brought down 1½ yards shy of the sticks. Grossman hits Desmond Clark for about five and the first down. He had some time, went through his progression, and hit Clark as his second look. First down is incomplete to Muhammad, then Jones loses one. Game break shows us that Minnesota has won, so the Bears will have to clinch the division at home against the Vikings. Grossman buys some time on a roll-out right and hits Berrian on the right side for the first down. Berrian came back for that on the roll-out, good play. Play-action buys some time for Grossman, and he goes deep for Berrian, who gets crushed in between James Sanders and Ellis Hobbs, but no flag. Not sure why not. Jones gets nothing, then Grossman hits Mark Bradley in the teeth of a blitz for the first down. There's a flag on this one, but the Bears decline it as they have first down just inside Pats' territory. Jones doesn't have much room but falls forward for a couple, then Grossman hits a wide-open Berrian over the middle at the Pats' 30 and he's dragged down at the 25. Jones has nothing up the middle, bounces outside and gets a gain. Didn't look like much, but he did a good job to avoid a tackle or two and squeeze forward for a couple. Grossman has nothing, so he chucks it out of the back of the end zone with a little over five minutes left in the quarter. Grossman has some more time, throws into the end zone where Berrian falls to the ground at the hands of Hobbs and no flags again. Gould nails a 40-yarder but it's called back because Alfonso Boone false started. Robbie Gould is perfect no more, as the Pats get a hand on the re-kick. First commercial break, and I get to read some comments now.
