Last Turnover Loses

It's hard to point to a game that featured 9 turnovers and call it a "great game". But, watching it from the rubberized confines of The Razor (oblique new playing surface reference), it had all the elements of a great contest: hard-nosed punishing defenses, constant possession changes, big plays, big plays missed, gambling quarterbacks, suddenly agile quaterbacks, and three pics by a defensive back. And, most importantly, either team could have won in the last minute.

Sure, the Pats left a LOT of points on the field by coughing up the ball deep in Bears territory a few times. Sure, Rex Grossman makes Kenny Rogers (the alleged singer) seem like a Gamblers Anonymous recruiter. Sure, the Zebras tried to give the game to DA BEARS, but, hey, we beat a formerly 9-1 team and took a "must-win" victory home.

The 17-13 triumph was not an artistic display, but it really was a bit of a throwback game. And, it was as close as it was because Chicago is one of the rare NFC teams that plays an AFC-type battering, ball-hawking defense.

But, the sum and substance of this game came down to the raw determination of Tom Brady to will a score in the 4th Quarter after the Bears had tied it at 10 on a flag-induced scoring drive. In methodical Brady fashion, the Pats marched down the field--exemplified most by the QB's dekeing of Brian Urlacher for a 11-yard first down run.

So, who cares if it was sloppy? It says "W".