2005 Chicago Bears season

2005 Chicago Bears season
Head coach Lovie Smith
General manager Jerry Angelo
Owner The McCaskey Family
Home field Soldier Field
Results
Record 11–5
Division place 1st NFC North
Playoff finish Lost Divisional Playoffs (Panthers) 29–21

The 2005 Chicago Bears season was their 86th regular season and 24th post-season completed in the National Football League. The club posted an 11–5 record, earning them their first NFC North title and the second seed in the NFC for the playoffs.

The season started off with the club trying to rebound from a 5–11 season under now coach Lovie Smith. Smith, in his first year with the Bears, had been eager to lead his young team to a Super Bowl, but a preseason injury to starting quarterback Rex Grossman spelled disaster for the Bears.[1]

The 2005 Bears began the season on a negative note, winning only one of their first four games. Despite their poor passing game, the Bears managed to win eight consecutive games, through perseverance on defense and a solid running game. The Bears eventually clinched a playoff berth on Christmas Day against the Green Bay Packers. However, in their first playoff game in almost four years, the Carolina Panthers upset the Bears, 29–21.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 2005 NFL Draft
2005 Chicago Bears draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 4 Cedric Benson  RB Texas
2 39 Mark Bradley  WR Oklahoma
4 106 Kyle Orton  QB Purdue
5 140 Airese Currie  WR Clemson
6 181 Chris Harris  S Louisiana-Monroe
7 220 Rod Wilson  LB South Carolina
      Made roster       Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Training camp

Hopeful expectations were crushed as quarterback Rex Grossman's ankle was broken in the 2nd preseason game against the St. Louis Rams.[1] Backup quarterback Chad Hutchinson was benched and cut after struggling heavily in the next two preseason games against the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills. The Bears then turned to rookie Kyle Orton to lead their offense.

Rookie running back Cedric Benson held out of training camp over a contract dispute until just before the final preseason game. His absence in camp meant that Thomas Jones would be the starting running back going into the regular season.

Despite all these setbacks, the Bears were still hopeful because franchise middle linebacker Brian Urlacher had made it through the preseason in good health, unlike the year before when he battled injuries all season, beginning with a pulled hamstring on the first day of training camp.

Preseason

Date Opponent Score
August 8, 2005 vs Miami Dolphins W 27–24
August 12, 2005 at St. Louis Rams L 17–13
August 20, 2005 at Indianapolis Colts W 24–17
August 26, 2005 Buffalo Bills W 16-12
September 1, 2005 Cleveland Browns L 16–6

Personnel

Staff

2005 Chicago Bears staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones
  • Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Jim Arthur

Roster

Chicago Bears 2005 roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Game site TV Record
1 September 11, 2005 Washington Redskins L 9–7 FedEx Field FOX 0–1
2 September 18, 2005 Detroit Lions W 38–6 Soldier FieldFOX 1–1
3 September 25, 2005 Cincinnati Bengals L 24–7 Soldier FieldCBS 1–2
4 Bye
5 October 9, 2005 Cleveland Browns L 20–10 Cleveland Browns Stadium FOX 1–3
6 October 16, 2005 Minnesota Vikings W 28–3 Soldier Field FOX 2–3
7 October 23, 2005 Baltimore Ravens W 10–6 Soldier Field CBS 3–3
8 October 30, 2005 Detroit Lions W 19–13 Ford FieldFOX 4–3
9 November 6, 2005 New Orleans Saints W 20–17 Tiger Stadium FOX 5–3
10 November 13, 2005 San Francisco 49ers W 17–9 Soldier Field FOX 6–3
11 November 20, 2005 Carolina Panthers W 13–3 Soldier Field FOX 7–3
12 November 27, 2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 13–10 Raymond James Stadium FOX 8–3
13 December 4, 2005 Green Bay Packers W 19–7 Soldier Field FOX 9–3
14 December 11, 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–9 Heinz Field FOX 9–4
15 December 18, 2005 Atlanta Falcons W 16–3 Soldier Field ESPN 10–4
16 December 25, 2005 Green Bay Packers W 24–17 Lambeau Field FOX 11–4
17 January 1, 2006 Minnesota Vikings L 34–10 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome FOX 11–5

Standings

NFC North
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(2) Chicago Bears 11 5 0 .688 5–1 10–2 260 202 L1
Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 .563 5–1 8–4 306 344 W1
Detroit Lions 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 254 345 L1
Green Bay Packers 4 12 0 .250 1–5 4–8 298 344 W1

Week-by-Week results

Week 1: at Washington Redskins

1 2 34Total
Bears 0 0 707
Redskins 0 3 609

at FedExField

Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions

1 2 34Total
Lions 6 0 006
Bears 10 21 0738

at Soldier Field

Week 3: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 34Total
Bengals 10 0 7724
Bears 0 0 707

at Soldier Field

Week 5: at Cleveland Browns

1 2 34Total
Bears 0 3 7010
Browns 3 3 01420

at Cleveland Browns Stadium

Week 6: vs. Minnesota Vikings

1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 3 003
Bears 0 7 71428

at Soldier Field

  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 60°F (Sunny)

    Q2 – MIN – 6:55 – Paul Edinger 23 yd FG (MIN 3–0)

    Q2 – CHI – 0:37 – 3 yd TD pass from Kyle Orton to Desmond Clark (Robbie Gould kick) (CHI 7–3)

    Q3 – CHI – 7:28 – 2 yd TD pass from Kyle Orton to Desmond Clark (Gould kick) (CHI 14–3)

    Q4 – CHI – 13:03 – Thomas Jones 24 yd TD run (Gould kick) (CHI 21–3)

    Q4 – CHI – 4:11 – Thomas Jones 1 yd TD run (Gould kick) (CHI 28–3)

  • Game attendance: 62,143
  • TV announcers (FOX): Sam Rosen and Bill Maas

Week 7: vs. Baltimore Ravens

1 2 34Total
Ravens 0 6 006
Bears 7 0 3010

at Soldier Field

Before the game, Bears great Walter Payton, who died in 1999, was honored by teammate Dan Hampton, who played together in the Bears' 1985 season.[2]

Week 8: at Detroit Lions

1 2 34OTTotal
Bears 0 13 00619
Lions 3 0 73013

at Ford Field

Bears rookie Mark Bradley was placed on injured reserve this game, and was replaced by Justin Gage.[3] Bradley had recorded 18 receptions for 230 yards at the time of his injury.

Week 9: at New Orleans Saints

1 2 34Total
Bears 7 3 7320
Saints 3 7 0717

at Tiger Stadium

Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks passes against the Bears at Tiger Stadium

Due to damage from Hurricane Katrina to the Louisiana Superdome, the Saints were forced to host the game at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.[4] The Saints scored first on a John Carney field goal, but the Bears struck back with a Kyle Orton to Justin Gage touchdown pass. After the Saints scored on an Aaron Brooks touchdown pass to Donte' Stallworth, Robbie Gould tied the game on a 35-yard field goal. In the second half, Adrian Peterson gave the Bears the lead on a 6-yard run, which was countered with Brooks scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth. Orton eventually threw a 22-yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad to set up a game-winning field goal from Gould with six seconds left in the game. Gould eventually scored on a 28-yard field goal to give the Bears a 20–17 lead. The Saints' last chance to march 65 yards to win was crushed when Brooks' pass to Az-Zahir Hakim was intercepted by Nathan Vasher. The win was the Bears' fourth-straight, which hasn't been accomplished by the team since their 2001 season.[5] In the first quarter, Bears running back Thomas Jones went out with an injury, but his backups Adrian Peterson and Cedric Benson would combine for 137 yards and a touchdown.[3]

Week 10: vs. San Francisco 49ers

1 2 34Total
49ers 0 3 339
Bears 0 7 01017

at Soldier Field

  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 50°F (Overcast, Windy 38 MPH)
  • Game attendance: 62,153
  • TV announcers (FOX): Sam Rosen and Bill Maas

Week 11: vs. Carolina Panthers

1 2 34Total
Panthers 0 0 033
Bears 10 3 0013

at Soldier Field

  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 44°F (Cloudy)
  • Game attendance: 62,156
  • TV announcers (FOX): Sam Rosen and Bill Maas

Week 12: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1 2 34Total
Bears 7 3 3013
Buccaneers 3 0 0710

at Raymond James Stadium

Week 13: vs. Green Bay Packers

1 2 34Total
Packers 0 7 007
Bears 0 9 01019

at Soldier Field

Week 14: at Pittsburgh Steelers

1 2 34Total
Bears 3 0 069
Steelers 7 7 7021

at Heinz Field

Week 15: vs. Atlanta Falcons

1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 3 003
Bears 0 6 10016

at Soldier Field

Week 16: at Green Bay Packers

1 2 34Total
Bears 7 7 10024
Packers 0 7 01017

at Lambeau Field

  • Game time: 5:00 p.m. EST/4:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 34 (Clear) °F
  • Game attendance: 69,757
  • TV announcers (FOX): Sam Rosen and Bill Maas

The win marked the first time since 1991 that the Bears swept the Green Bay Packers.[6]

Week 17: at Minnesota Vikings

1 2 34Total
Bears 3 0 0710
Vikings 0 17 71034

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

Playoffs

NFC Divisional Playoff: vs. Carolina Panthers

1 2 34Total
Panthers 7 9 7629
Bears 0 7 7721

at Soldier Field

The Bears would host their first playoff game since the 2001 season against the red hot Panthers, fresh off a victory over Eli Manning and the New York Giants.

Things were bad from the beginning for the Bears, who allowed a 58-yard Jake Delhomme TD pass to Steve Smith just 55 seconds into the game. Cornerback Charles Tillman slipped on the play, and it would only signify things to come the rest of the game for the vaunted Bears defense.

The Panthers would add 2 field goals to their total before the Bears would get their first points.

The Bears offense got off to a slow start, having their first 5 possessions end in punts. Their first score came midway through the second quarter, when running back Adrian Peterson scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run. The Bears had opted to go for it on 4th down to get the score, cutting the Carolina lead to 13–7. Before the half expired, the Panthers' John Kasay kicked a 37-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in the half, extending the lead to 16–7.

The Bears offense came out at halftime firing on all cylinders, mounting an 8-play, 68-yard drive to close to within 2 points of the Panther lead. It was a balanced drive that led to the score, with the Bears running and passing 5 times each, with Rex Grossman capping the drive with a 1-yard TD pass to Desmond Clark.

The spark provided by the offense would be short lived, as midway through the 3rd quarter, Delhomme went deep to Steve Smith again, this time for a 39-yard touchdown that put the Panthers up 23–14. Chris Thompson, a reserve defensive back for the Bears, fell down on the play to let Smith slip past him.

The Bears would manage to score one more time on a drive that started with 2:07 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Grossman would complete 3 of 4 passes on the drive, and running back Thomas Jones almost scored on a 7-yard run. After a replay challenge by Carolina, however, the officials reversed the call to say that Jones had fumbled into the endzone, which would have resulted in a Carolina touchback. However, a major facemask penalty on Carolina defensive back Marlon McCree would give Chicago a first down at the Carolina 3. From there, fullback Jason McKie would rumble in for a touchdown, making the score 23–21 in favor of the Panthers.

The Panthers would extend their lead once more with a 1-yard Delhomme pass to tight end Kris Mangum. Kasay would miss the extra point try though, making the Panther lead 29–21.

When the Bears offense would start moving the ball once more, disaster struck for the Bears, as on a 3rd-and-10 play from the Carolina 37-yard line, Grossman threw an ill-advised interception to Ken Lucas.

References

  1. 1 2 "Second major injury in two years for Bears QB – NFL – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2005-08-13. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  2. America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, "#2. 1985 Chicago Bears." Premiered on CBS, Feb. 3, 2007
  3. 1 2 "NFL Game Center: Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints – 2005 Week 9". Nfl.com. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  4. "Saints' home games: 4 at LSU, 3 in Alamodome – NFL – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2005-09-12. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  5.   (2005-11-06). "Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints – Recap – November 06, 2005 – ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  6. Mayer, Larry (2013-12-25). "Was schedule different due to holiday?". Chicago Bears. Retrieved 2013-12-27.

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