2001 Chicago Bears season

2001 Chicago Bears season

Head coach	Dick Jauron
General manager	Jerry Angelo
Owner	The McCaskey Family
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	13–3
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (Eagles) 33–19

The 2001 Chicago Bears season was their 82nd regular season and 23rd postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a surprising 13–3 record under head coach Dick Jauron en route to an NFC Central title and the number two seed in the NFC. The Bears, led by Jim Miller, seemed like a team of destiny, with five comeback wins during the season, including two straight improbable wins where safety Mike Brown returned an interception for the game-winning touchdown in overtime. However, it was not to be as the Bears were upset at home by the Philadelphia Eagles 33–19 in the NFC Divisional playoffs.

Season narrative

The Bears surprised most with a breakout campaign in 2001. After losing the opening game of the season to the Super Bowl XXXV Champion Baltimore Ravens 17–6 on the road, the Bears won their next six games, starting with a 17–10 victory against their division rival, the Minnesota Vikings in the Bears' home-opener. They carried their momentum through the Week 3 Bye and won on the road against the Atlanta Falcons (31–3).

The Bears returned home and won against the Arizona Cardinals 20–13. After a road shutout of the Cincinnati Bengals 24–0 the Bears played three home games. The first two games of this stretch were back-to-back overtime wins, first against the San Francisco 49ers (37–31), then against the Cleveland Browns (27–21). Both times safety Mike Brown capped remarkable comebacks (the Bears trailed 28–9 in the third quarter against San Francisco, and 21–7 with seconds remaining against Cleveland) by returning an interception in overtime for a touchdown.

Unfortunately the Green Bay Packers (their historic rival) buried the Bears' win streak at home, 20–12. The Bears rebounded, winning their next three games. They first defeated then-division rival Tampa Bay 27–24. A season sweep of the Vikings (13–6) followed, then the Bears defended their turf against the Detroit Lions 13–10.

The Bears then traveled to Lambeau Field and were swept by the Packers 17–7. Once again the Bears rebounded, winning their last four games, against the Buccaneers at home (27–3), the Redskins (20–15), the Lions on the road (24–0), and then their season-finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars (33–13). The Bears ended the regular season with a 13–3 record.

The Bears entered the playoffs with the league's top defense (allowing a league-low 203 points), an offense ranked 11th in points scored (338 points), and a plus-13 turnover differential (4th in the league), but their magical season ended on a sour note, losing 33–19 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs at Soldier Field.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 9, 2001	at Baltimore Ravens	L 17–6	FOX 12:00pm	69,365
2	September 23, 2001	Minnesota Vikings	W 17–10	FOX 12:00pm	66,944
3	Bye
4	October 7, 2001	at Atlanta Falcons	W 31–3	FOX 12:00pm	46,483
5	October 14, 2001	Arizona Cardinals	W 20–13	FOX 12:00pm	66,944
6	October 21, 2001	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 24–0	FOX 12:00pm	63,408
7	October 28, 2001	San Francisco 49ers	W 37–31	FOX 12:00pm	66,944
8	November 4, 2001	Cleveland Browns	W 27–21	CBS 3:15pm	66,944
9	November 11, 2001	Green Bay Packers	L 20–12	FOX 12:00pm	66,944
10	November 18, 2001	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–24	FOX 3:15pm	65,612
11	November 25, 2001	at Minnesota Vikings	W 13–6	ESPN 7:30pm	64,214
12	December 2, 2001	Detroit Lions	W 13–10	FOX 12:00pm	66,944
13	December 9, 2001	at Green Bay Packers	L 17–7	FOX 12:00pm	59,869
14	December 16, 2001	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–3	FOX 12:00pm	66,944
15	December 23, 2001	at Washington Redskins	W 20–15	FOX 12:00pm	78,884
16	December 30, 2001	at Detroit Lions	W 24–0	FOX 12:00pm	76,067
17	January 6, 2002	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 33–13	CBS 12:00pm	66,944

Game summaries

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	3	0	3	0	6
• Ravens	0	3	7	7	17

Date: September 9
Location: PSINet Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST

Week 2

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	3	0	7	0	10
• Bears	0	0	3	14	17

Date: September 23
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Game start: 12:00 p.m.
Game weather: 61°F • Wind 9
Referee: Mike Carey
Television network: Fox

Scoring summary

1	MIN	Gary Anderson 20-yard field goal	Vikings 3–0

3	MIN	Andrew Jordan 3-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Gary Anderson kick)	Vikings 7–3

3	CHI	Paul Edinger 45-yard field goal	Vikings 10–3

4	CHI	Marty Booker 15-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick)	Tie 10–10

4	CHI	Marcus Robinson 24-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 17–10

^[1]

Week 4

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bears	0	10	0	21	31
Falcons	0	0	0	3	3

Date: October 7
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: indoors (dome)
Referee: Bill Carollo
Television network: Fox

Scoring summary

2	CHI	Marcus Robinson 34-yard pass from Marty Booker (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 7–0

2	CHI	Paul Edinger 42-yard field goal	Bears 10–0

4	CHI	Marty Booker 63-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 17–0

4	CHI	Brian Urlacher 90-yard fumble return (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 24–0

4	ATL	Jay Feely 44-yard field goal	Bears 24–3

4	CHI	Anthony Thomas 32-yard run (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 31–3

^[2]

Week 5

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	6	0	7	13
• Bears	3	10	7	0	20

Date: October 14
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Game start: 12:00 p.m.
Game weather: 54°F • Wind 11
Referee: Johnny Grier
Television network: Fox

Scoring summary

1	CHI	Paul Edinger 46-yard field goal	Bears 3–0

2	ARI	Bill Gramatica 40-yard field goal	Tie 3–3

2	CHI	James Allen 1-yard run (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 10–3

2	ARI	Bill Gramatica 47-yard field goal	Bears 10–6

2	CHI	Paul Edinger 43-yard field goal	Bears 13–6

3	CHI	R.W. McQuarters 69-yard fumble return (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 20–6

4	ARI	Frank Sanders 7-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Bill Gramatica kick)	Bears 20–13

^[3]

Week 6

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bears	3	7	7	7	24
Bengals	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 21
Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 60°F • Wind 8
Referee: Bernie Kukar

Scoring summary

1	CHI	Paul Edinger 48-yard field goal	Bears 3–0

2	CHI	Fred Baxter 1-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 10–0

3	CHI	Marty Booker 13-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 17–0

4	CHI	Anthony Thomas 23-yard run (Paul Edinger kick)	Bears 24–0

^[4]

Week 7

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
49ers	14	0	14	3	0	31
• Bears	0	9	7	15	6	37

Date: October 28
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Game start: 12:00 p.m.
Game weather: 40°F • Wind 12
Referee: Dick Hantak
Television network: Fox

Scoring summary

1		SF	Julian Peterson 26-yard fumble return (Jose Cortez kick)	49ers 7–0

1		SF	Justin Swift 1-yard pass from Jeff Garcia (Jose Cortez kick)	49ers 14–0

2		CHI	Safety, ball fumbled out of end zone	49ers 14–2

2		CHI	Daimon Shelton 3-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Paul Edinger kick)	49ers 14–9

3		SF	Garrison Hearst 60-yard pass from Jeff Garcia (Jose Cortez kick)	49ers 21–9

3		SF	Zack Bronson 97-yard interception return (Jose Cortez kick)	49ers 28–9

3		CHI	Anthony Thomas 19-yard run (Paul Edinger kick)	49ers 28–16

4		SF	Jose Cortez 40-yard field goal	49ers 31–16

4		CHI	David Terrell 13-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Paul Edinger kick)	49ers 31–23

4		CHI	David Terrell 4-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Anthony Thomas run)	Tie 31–31

OT	14:44	CHI	Mike Brown 33-yard interception return	Bears 37–31

^[5]

Week 8

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Browns	7	0	14	0	0	21
• Bears	0	7	0	14	6	27

Date: November 4
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Game start: 3:15 p.m.
Game weather: 53°F • Wind 8
Referee: Gerald Austin
TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel

Scoring summary

1		CLE	Courtney Brown 25-yard fumble return (Phil Dawson kick)	Browns 7–0

2		CHI	Anthony Thomas 2-yard run (Paul Edinger kick)	Tie 7–7

3		CLE	Mike Sellers 3-yard pass from Tim Couch (Phil Dawson kick)	Browns 14–7

3		CLE	Kevin Johnson 55-yard pass from Tim Couch (Phil Dawson kick)	Browns 21–7

4		CHI	Marty Booker 9-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Paul Edinger kick)	Browns 21–14

4		CHI	James Allen 34-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Paul Edinger kick)	Tie 21–21

OT	12:10	CHI	Mike Brown 16-yard interception return	Bears 27–21

^[6]

Week 17

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	0	0	6	7	13
• Bears	3	10	10	10	33

Date: January 6
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: Cloudy; 32°F; wind 12
Referee: Dick Hantak
TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg and Dan Dierdorf

Scoring summary

Q1	2:42	CHI	Edinger 47 yard field goal	CHI 3–0

Q2	1:17	CHI	Johnson 2 yard run (Edinger kick)	CHI 10–0

Q2	:00	CHI	Edinger 23 yard field goal	CHI 13–0

Q3	9:40	CHI	Terrell 9 yard pass from Miller (Edinger kick)	CHI 20–0

Q3	6:59	JAC	McCardell 15 yard pass from Brunell (kick failed)	CHI 20–6

Q3	1:52	CHI	Edinger 25 yard field goal	CHI 23–6

Q4	12:56	CHI	Edinger 22 yard field goal	CHI 26–6

Q4	7:37	CHI	Thomas 2 yard run (Edinger kick)	CHI 33–6

Q4	3:50	JAC	Smith 3 yard pass from Brunell (Holmes kick)	CHI 33–13

^[7]

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ Chicago Bears	13	3	0	.813	338	203	W4
⁽³⁾ Green Bay Packers	12	4	0	.750	390	266	W3
⁽⁶⁾ Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9	7	0	.563	324	280	L1
Minnesota Vikings	5	11	0	.313	290	390	L4
Detroit Lions	2	14	0	.125	270	424	W1

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
Divisional	January 19, 2002	Philadelphia Eagles	L 19-33

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Eagles	6	7	7	13	33
Bears	0	7	7	5	19

Date: Saturday January 19, 2002
Location: Soldier Field
Game start: 3:37
Elapsed time: 2:58
Game attendance: 66,944
Game weather: 31°, wind 8 mph, wind chill 19°
Referee: Bill Carollo

Scoring summary

Q1	9:04	PHI	Akers 34 yard field goal	PHI 3–0

Q1	3:22	PHI	Akers 23 yard field goal	PHI 6–0

Q2	5:29	CHI	Merritt 47 yard run (Paul Edinger	CHI 7–6

Q2	0:14	PHI	Martin 13 yard pass from McNabb (Akers kick)	PHI 13–7

Q3	12:25	CHI	Azumah 39 yard interception return (Edinger kick)	CHI 14–13

Q3	5:55	PHI	Staley 6 yard pass from McNabb (Akers kick)	PHI 20-14

Q4	14:16	CHI	Edinger 38 yard field goal	PHI 20–17

Q4	8:48	PHI	Akers 40 yard field goal	PHI 23–17

Q4	6:28	PHI	Akers 46 yard field goal	PHI 26–17

Q4	3:21	PHI	McNabb 5 yard run (Akers kick)	PHI 33–17

Q4	0:00	CHI	Safety	PHI 33–19

^[8]

Final roster

2001 Chicago Bears final roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

84 Fred Baxter
82 John Davis
45 Scott Dragos FB
89 Dustin Lyman

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

70 Alfonso Boone DT
93 Philip Daniels DE
72 Carl Powell DE
95 Karon Riley DE
98 Bryan Robinson DE
99 Joe Tafoya DT
96 Henry Taylor DT
94 Keith Traylor DT
92 Ted Washington DT

Linebackers

59 Rosevelt Colvin OLB
53 Warrick Holdman OLB
52 Bobbie Howard LB
55 Greg Jones LB
56 Jim Nelson OLB
62 Robert Newkirk LB
91 Khari Samuel LB
54 Brian Urlacher ILB

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad

Rookies in italics
56 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Draft choices

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
2001 Chicago Bears draft
1	8	David Terrell	WR	Michigan
2	38	Anthony Thomas	RB	Michigan
3	68	Mike Gandy	OL	Notre Dame
4	103	Karon Riley	LB	Minnesota
5	138	Bernard Robertson	OL	Tulane
7	208	John Capel	WR	Florida
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

Defense

CB
Walt Harris
Jerry Azumah

CB
R.W. McQuarters
⋅

Offense

WR
Marty Booker
⋅

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Blake Brockermeyer	Rex Tucker	Olin Kreutz	Chris Villarrial	James Williams
⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅

TE
Fred Baxter
John Davis

WR
Dez White
David Terrell

QB
Jim Miller
Shane Matthews

RB
Anthony Thomas
James Allen

FB
Daimon Shelton
⋅

Special Teams
PK Paul Edinger
P Brad Maynard
KR Autry Denson
PR Leon Johnson

References

↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-17.
↑ "Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears - January 19th, 2002 | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-12-01.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: 2001 Chicago Bears season

2001 Chicago Bears Season at www.bearshistory.com

Chicago Bears

Founded in 1919 Formerly the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Staleys Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois

Franchise	History Coaches Seasons Current season

Records	Records and statistics Franchise records All-time record versus NFL Team awards and honors Players Head coaches Pro Football Hall of Famers First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks

Stadiums	Staley Field Wrigley Field Soldier Field Memorial Stadium Soldier Field II

Lore	Fog Bowl 1932 Playoff Game First NFL Championship Game "The Sneakers Game" Monsters of the Midway T formation 46 defense 15–1 Super Bowl XX Bears 73, Redskins 0 Staley Swindle Cardiac Kids George S. Halas Trophy Brian Piccolo Award 75th Anniversary League Team NFL All-Time Team 2006 game vs. Arizona Cardinals

Culture	Brian's Song 1971 2001 "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" "The Super Bowl Shuffle" Bill Swerski's Superfans Chuck Swirsky Staley Da Bear Logos and uniforms Halas Hall A. E. Staley Jack Brickhouse Papa Bear Mike Ditka Roosevelt/Wabash 85386 Payton Chicago Honey Bears Jim Cornelison

Rivalries	Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings

Retired numbers	3 5 7 28 34 40 41 42 51 56 61 66 77 89

Key personnel	Chairman: George McCaskey President/CEO: Ted Phillips General Manager: Ryan Pace Head Coach: John Fox

Division championships (18)	1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 2001 2005 2006 2010

Conference championships (4)	1956 1963 1985 2006

League championships (9)	1921 1932 1933 1940 1941 1943 1946 1963 1985 (XX)

Media	Radio: WBBM (AM) WCFS-FM (FM simulcast of WBBM) Personnel: Jeff Joniak (play-by-play) Tom Thayer (analyst) Zach Zaidman (sideline reporter and radio coach's show host) Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox, official pre-game and post-game) Comcast SportsNet Chicago (in-season team programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Sam Rosen (pre-season play-by-play) Jim Miller (pre-season analyst)

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

Seasons (96)	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Championship seasons in bold Book:Chicago Bears :Category:Chicago Bears WikiProject Chicago Bears

Decatur / Chicago Staleys–Chicago Bears seasons

Decatur Staleys 1920 Chicago Staleys 1921 Chicago 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

2001 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Baltimore	Denver	Arizona	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cincinnati	Kansas City	Dallas	Detroit	Carolina
Miami	Cleveland	Oakland	NY Giants	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Jacksonville	San Diego	Philadelphia	Minnesota	St. Louis
NY Jets	Pittsburgh	Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay	San Francisco
	Tennessee

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