Twenty years ago this Friday, on October 16, 2006, the unbeaten Chicago Bears trailed the 1-4 Arizona Cardinals 23-3 late in the third quarter of a Monday night game in Glendale. Rex Grossman had already turned the ball over four times. Chicago’s offense would finish with nine first downs and 168 total yards. The Bears won anyway, 24-23, without scoring an offensive touchdown.
What happened in those last 17 minutes produced one of the most replayed comebacks in league history and the most quoted postgame news conference of the decade. Dennis Green slammed his fist on the podium and told reporters the Bears “are who we thought they were” — and that his team had “let ’em off the hook.”
How Arizona built a 20-point lead
The Cardinals were in their first season at the new University of Phoenix Stadium and starting rookie Matt Leinart for the second time. Leinart completed nine of his first 10 passes, hit Bryant Johnson for an 11-yard touchdown on the opening drive and found Anquan Boldin from 26 yards out before the first quarter ended. Arizona led 14-0.
Grossman threw first-half interceptions to Aaron Francisco and Gerald Hayes and lost two fumbles in the second quarter. Neil Rackers turned two of those takeaways into field goals from 41 and 28 yards, and the Cardinals went to the locker room up 20-0 on a Bears team that had opened 5-0, outscored opponents 156-36 and arrived as a 13-point favorite. A Rackers 29-yarder answered Robbie Gould’s 23-yard field goal in the third quarter: 23-3.
Three touchdowns, none by the offense
The first swing came from a rookie. With seconds left in the third quarter, Mark Anderson sacked Leinart from his blind side and knocked the ball loose. Safety Mike Brown scooped it and went three yards for a touchdown with two seconds on the clock. 23-10.
Chicago still could not move the ball. Grossman’s fourth-quarter pass to Darnell Dockett was returned 73 yards for an apparent Arizona touchdown; Lovie Smith challenged, replay showed Dockett had been touched down, and the score came off the board even though the interception stood. Grossman then threw his fourth interception, to Robert Griffith.
Arizona only needed to run clock. On the second play of the next series Brian Urlacher wrapped Edgerrin James and ripped the ball out. Charles Tillman picked it up and ran 40 yards for a touchdown with 5:00 left. 23-17.
Arizona’s next drive stalled, and the punt went to rookie Devin Hester. He returned it 83 yards for a touchdown and a 24-23 lead with 2:58 to play. Leinart drove Arizona into range anyway, and Rackers — 3 for 4 on the night — lined up for a 40-yard field goal inside the final minute. It drifted wide left. Chicago knelt it out.
| Moment | Score after |
|---|---|
| Bryant Johnson 11-yard TD from Matt Leinart (1st quarter) | ARI 7-0 |
| Anquan Boldin 26-yard TD from Leinart (1st quarter) | ARI 14-0 |
| Neil Rackers 41- and 28-yard field goals (2nd quarter) | ARI 20-0 |
| Robbie Gould 23-yard FG, Rackers 29-yard FG (3rd quarter) | ARI 23-3 |
| Mike Brown 3-yard fumble return TD after Mark Anderson strip-sack, 0:02 3rd quarter | ARI 23-10 |
| Charles Tillman 40-yard fumble return TD after Brian Urlacher strip, 5:00 4th quarter | ARI 23-17 |
| Devin Hester 83-yard punt return TD, 2:58 4th quarter | CHI 24-23 |
| Rackers 40-yard field goal wide left, final minute | Final: CHI 24-23 |
The numbers that should not add up
| Stat | Bears | Cardinals |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 9 | 17 |
| Total yards | 168 | 286 |
| Rushing yards | 38 | 66 |
| Turnovers | 6 (4 INT, 2 fumbles lost) | 2 (2 fumbles lost) |
| Time of possession | 20:17 | 39:43 |
| Leading passer | Rex Grossman 14 of 37, 4 INT | Matt Leinart 24 of 42, 232 yards, 2 TD |
| Leading tackler | Brian Urlacher 19 (11 solo), forced fumble | Gerald Hayes 7, INT |
The Elias Sports Bureau found it was the first win in Bears history in which they trailed by at least 20 points in the second half. It has been cited ever since as the biggest comeback in NFL history without an offensive touchdown. No team had won while committing six turnovers since December 21, 1986 — and that team was also the Bears, 24-10 at Dallas.
Urlacher’s 19 tackles and forced fumble are still remembered as one of the best games of his Hall of Fame career. Boldin caught 12 passes for 136 yards in a losing effort. Leinart became the first quarterback to throw at least two touchdown passes in each of his first two starts, and lost both games.
“They are who we thought they were”
Arizona had beaten Chicago 23-16 in the third week of the preseason at Soldier Field, and Green’s staff built its game plan around what it saw that night. After the loss, he erupted at the podium.
The Bears are who we thought they were! … But they are who we thought they were! And we let ’em off the hook!
Dennis Green, October 16, 2006
He yanked the microphone stand and walked out after about 42 seconds. The clip was in a beer commercial by the next season, and Green later said his doctor called the outburst a good stress reliever. A year afterward he explained the point he had been making: Arizona believed Chicago was a one-dimensional team, attacked it accordingly, and built a 20-point lead before giving it back.
Where it led
Chicago finished 13-3, won the NFC and lost Super Bowl XLI to Peyton Manning’s Colts, 29-17. The night also launched the “good Rex, bad Rex” label that followed Grossman through the rest of his Bears tenure. Hester went on to become the league’s career leader in return touchdowns.
Arizona finished 5-11 and fired Green, who died in 2016. Under Ken Whisenhunt and Kurt Warner, the Cardinals reached Super Bowl XLIII two seasons later. Leinart was released in 2010.
Both fourth-quarter touchdowns came on defensive fumble returns — legal because neither came on fourth down or after the two-minute warning. For how recoveries, advances and fumbles out of bounds work, read the WhyNFL guide: NFL fumble rules explained.
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