NFC CHAMPIONSHIP NOTEBOOK

updated 9:21 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2007

CHICAGO - Soldier Field’s new sod was no match for the elements.

With snow and freezing rain during Sunday’s NFC championship game, it was no surprise that the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints had trouble staying upright — and hanging on to the ball.

The Chicago Park District re-sodded the middle of the field before the regular-season finale against Green Bay, with the edges done before last week’s playoff game against Seattle.

“I woke up this morning and saw that it was nice and snowy and cold,” Bears running back Cedric Benson said after Sunday’s 39-14 victory over New Orleans in the NFC championship game. “And I was like, ‘It’s got to be to our advantage, playing a dome team.”’

The first indication of trouble was when the Saints’ Marques Colston slipped trying to catch a pass that Drew Brees threw behind him early in the game. The rookie receiver slipped again when Brees tried to find him on a deep pass over the middle on New Orleans’ first possession of the second quarter.

He wasn’t the only one having difficulty keeping his footing.

Benson slipped after taking a handoff on the second play of the second quarter, resulting in a 3-yard loss. Cornerback Charles Tillman got beat at the line and slipped on Colston’s 13-yard touchdown reception that pulled New Orleans within 16-7.

The Saints fumbled four times and lost three.

The Bears recovered two of New Orleans’ three fumbles in the first half, leading to field goals. And the Saints were fortunate the other didn’t lead to a score. They had a third down at the Chicago 41 when Mark Anderson delivered a blind-side sack on Drew Brees. The ball popped out and rolled all the way to the New Orleans 34 before Jahri Evans recovered it.

“I don’t think we can blame it on the weather,” Brees said. “I think that (the Bears) led the league in getting turnovers during the regular season. We made an emphasis of it the entire week about tucking the ball away and not letting them yank it way, and sure enough, it happened to us four times today. That’s unfortunate, but you have to hand it to them.”

The job search
The Bears’ success may cost defensive coordinator Ron Rivera a head-coaching job. Not that he minds.

Rivera has interviewed for several positions, but he’s off limits until the end of the season. A finalist for the Pittsburgh job, Rivera might have had a second interview Monday had the Bears lost.

“I’m going to the Super Bowl,” Rivera said. “If I get it, great. If I don’t, great. All I know is I have the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl.”

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One-man drive
With a 9-0 lead midway through the second quarter, Thomas Jones scored the game’s first touchdown on a 2-yard run. It came five plays after he broke off a 33-yarder, Chicago’s longest run this season.

One pass play notwithstanding, Jones sat out the previous three possessions before Chicago started an eight-play, 69-yard touchdown drive with just under six minutes left in the first half. The Bears handed off to Jones each time, starting with a 14-yard run up the middle, and two plays later he broke off the 33-yarder that put the ball on the New Orleans 20.

Jones added a 15-yard touchdown with 4:19 remaining in the game.

“It was exciting just because anytime you’re in a game of this magnitude and you score a touchdown, that kind of puts you ahead, it gives your team confidence,” Jones said.

Jones set a Bears playoff record with 123 yards on 19 attempts.

“(It) kind of gives you momentum, especially when you’re playing at home,” he said. “It gets the crowd excited.”

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