N.o. Problem

Bears middle� linebacker Brian Urlacher was waiting for his chicken enchiladas at a suburban Chicago restaurant on the night of Jan. 10 when his younger brother, Casey, delivered encouraging news. The weather forecast for Sunday's NFC divisional playoff game against visiting Seattle was nasty: snow, sleet and freezing rain. "That's exactly what I want to hear," Urlacher said, giddily rubbing his hands together. "The colder it is, the better." As it turned out, he didn't get the weather he wanted--the game-time temperature at Soldier Field was 33� and there was no precipitation all afternoon--but Chicago's defense put the Seahawks in deep freeze when it counted most to key a 27--24 overtime win.

In a game that will likely be remembered more for the clutch passing of Rex Grossman, Thomas Jones's two touchdown runs and the 49-yard field goal by Robbie Gould that won it, the defense made numerous big plays after Chicago fell behind, 24--21, late in the third quarter: an interception by cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., sacks by end Adewale Ogunleye and tackle Tank Johnson that halted two drives, and outside linebacker Lance Briggs's tackle of Shaun Alexander on fourth-and-one at the Bears' 44 with two minutes left in regulation (keeping the Seahawks out of field goal range).

What rankled Urlacher was that it took him and his teammates so long to put the clamps on a Seattle offense that rolled up 306 yards, including 127 on the ground. "We know we didn't play our best game today," he said afterward. "We pride ourselves on being a second-half team, and they really took it to us in the third quarter. But we also did enough to win."

The Chicago unit, which was dominant in the first half of the season but had allowed an average of 26.3 points in its last four games, has suffered from the loss of two Pro Bowl players: strong safety Mike Brown (sprained right foot) and tackle Tommie Harris (torn left hamstring), who have been on injured reserve since Oct. 19 and Dec. 12, respectively. Now the Bears play host to the league's top-ranked offense--a New Orleans attack that averaged 391.5 yards a game during the regular season--in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. Chicago's linebackers may be fast enough to contend with the Saints' spread formations and the breakaway potential of running back Reggie Bush, but the Cover 2 scheme requires a dominant defensive tackle, a swift middle linebacker and savvy safeties. The injuries have thus put added pressure on Urlacher. "Brian can control the middle of the field," said outside linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer. "You saw it today: The Seahawks couldn't attack the middle [with the pass] because he covers so much ground."

A year ago the Bears were the NFC's No. 2 seed and lost their first playoff game, at home, to the Carolina Panthers. Urlacher took the defeat so hard that he skipped the Pro Bowl and spent the first month of the off-season out of town. He came back with a fury and rang up 185 tackles this season, the second-highest total of his seven-year career, then helped the Bears win their first postseason game since 1994. "We've said it all year long: Our goal is to get to the Super Bowl," he said. " New Orleans will be a tough test because they have a great offense, but this is also an exciting time. Regardless of who we're facing, we're exactly where we want to be."