with a 12–4 record, giving them the #3 playoff seed. Therefore, they had to play in a wild card playoff game. In the Wild Card playoffs, they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 23–8, then defeated the Baltimore Ravens 15–6 in the Divisional playoffs, and advanced to Super Bowl XLI with a 38–34 win over the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game after rallying from a 21–3 deficit. Chicago Bears Chicago finished the season with an NFC best 13–3 record and advanced to the second Super Bowl in franchise history. They defeated the Seattle Seahawks 27–24 in overtime in the divisional round of the playoffs, and the New Orleans Saints 39–14 in the NFC Championship game to advance to Super Bowl XLI. The team excelled on defense, ranking third in fewest points allowed (255) and second in fewest points allowed per drive. They also ranked second in scoring (427 points), although only tenth in points per offensive drive thanks to a league leading 65 points scored on defensive or special teams plays. The Bears offense was led by quarterback Rex Grossman, the team's first round draft pick in 2003. Over the previous three seasons, Grossman had played in just 8 regular season games due to injuries, but he recovered to start in all 16 games in 2006. By the end of the season, he finished with 3,193 yards and 23 touchdowns, the most by a Bears quarterback since 1995. Grossman had difficulty avoiding turnovers, however, and threw 20 interceptions and lost five fumbles during the year. In the last seven games of the season, he turned the ball over 18 times. Many fans and sports writers expected head coach Lovie Smith to bench him at some point, but Smith insisted that Grossman would be the starter throughout the entire season. Receivers Muhsin Muhammad (60 receptions, 863 yards, 5 touchdowns) and Bernard Berrian (51 receptions, 775 yards, 7 touchdowns) provided the main deep threat on the team, along with tight end Desmond Clark, who caught 45 passes for 626 yards and 6 touchdowns. Chicago's running game was led by running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. Jones rushed for 1,210 yards and caught 36 passes, while Benson rushed for 647 yards and scored 6 touchdowns. Chicago's defense allowed the 5th least total yardage, allowed less than 100 yards per game on the ground, and allowed the fewest yards per drive