Chicago Bears skin Seahawks in NFL overtime

By Ros Krasny

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Chicago Bears won a nail-biting playoff game on Sunday, skinning the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 in overtime to advance to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1988 season.

The Bears tied Seattle with less than five minutes to play in regulation with a gutsy 41-yard Robbie Gould fieldgoal into a howling wind, before holding off the opposition to force extra time.

Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman then orchestrated a seven-play, 34-yard drive in overtime, putting Gould in position for a 49-yard shot.

The crowd erupted as Chicago clinched its first home playoff win since 1991, in its first ever overtime playoff game.

"I knew I hit it solid -- I didn't even watch the end of it," Gould said of his winning shot. The earlier kick made the crossbar with "maybe a yard to spare," he said.

Chicago will play the resurgent New Orleans Saints next Sunday for the right to advance to the Superbowl in Miami on February 4. The Saints edged out the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday by an identical 27-24.

Sunday's come-from-behind squeaker obliterated memories of the Bears' final regular season game, an embarrassing loss to division rivals Green Bay in a nationally televised New Year's Eve rout.

BEAT HANDILY

Chicago ended the season with a record of 13-3, enough to clinch home-field advantage for the playoffs, but the loss raised concerns that the team would find a way to lose another home playoff game to a team it beat handily in the regular season.

"Last night I talked to the team about finishing -- after all we've gone through this year it would be a shame not to finish," said Bears coach Lovie Smith.

Chicago needed to weather an all-out assault by the Seahawks at the end of regulation, successfully keeping the visitors out of fieldgoal range.

"In the end, the defense had to make a stop," said Smith.

Grossman finally put Chicago in a position to win with a 30-yard toss to wide receiver Rashied Davis.

The notoriously streaky Grossman had a solid game, completing 21 of 38 passes for 282 yards, the lion's share of the Bears' 371 yards of total offense.

"Our whole time just played great," Grossman said. "This is an unbelievable situation -- two wins away from having a (Superbowl) ring on my finger for the rest of my life."