Jacksonville 13, Chicago 33
BOX SCORE | RECAP|

  1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH Final
Jacksonville 0 0 6 7 13
Chicago 3 10 10 10 33
Scoring
1ST QUARTER
CHI - FG, PAUL EDINGER 47 YD, 12:18. Drive: 8 plays, 35
          yards in 3:32. Key plays: Green 5-yard blocked
          field goal return to Chicago 36; Thomas 10-yard
          run to Chicago 46; Miller 20-yard pass to Bates
          to Jacksonville 33. CHICAGO 3-0
2ND QUARTER
 CHI - TD, LEON JOHNSON 2 YD RUN (PAUL EDINGER KICK),
          13:43. Drive: 11 plays, 54 yards in 5:55. Key
          plays: Johnson 14-yard punt return to Chicago
          46; Johnson 3-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to
          Jacksonville 30; Miller 17-yard pass to Booker
          on 4th-and-8 to Jacksonville 11. CHICAGO 10-0
CHI - FG, PAUL EDINGER 23 YD, 15:00. Drive: 8 plays, 38
          yards in 1:02. Key plays: Miller 19-yard pass
          to Bates on 3rd-and-12 to Jacksonville 26;
          Miller 13-yard pass to Allen to Jacksonville 5.
          CHICAGO 13-0
3RD QUARTER
 CHI - TD, DAVID TERRELL 9 YD PASS FROM JIM MILLER (PAUL
          EDINGER KICK), 5:20. Drive: 2 plays, 9 yards in
          0:43. Key plays: Traylor 67-yard interception
          return to Jacksonville 9. CHICAGO 20-0
JAC - TD, KEENAN MCCARDELL 15 YD PASS FROM MARK BRUNELL
          (PAT FAILED), 8:01. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards in
          2:41. Key plays: Brunell 11-yard pass to
          McCardell to Jacksonville 41; Mack 7-yard run
          on 3rd-and-2 to Chicago 44; Brunell 12-yard
          pass to Smith to Chicago 32; Mack 17-yard run
          to Chicago 15. CHICAGO 20-6
CHI - FG, PAUL EDINGER 25 YD, 13:08. Drive: 9 plays, 59
          yards in 5:07. Key plays: Miller 5-yard pass to
          Booker on 3rd-and-3 to Chicago 46; Thomas
          34-yard run to Jacksonville 20; Thomas 12-yard
          run to Jacksonville 8. CHICAGO 23-6
4TH QUARTER
CHI - FG, PAUL EDINGER 22 YD, 2:04. Drive: 6 plays, 21
          yards in 3:34. Key plays: Colvin 14-yard
          interception return to Jacksonville 25; Thomas
          11-yard run to Jacksonville 13. CHICAGO 26-6
CHI - TD, ANTHONY THOMAS 2 YD RUN (PAUL EDINGER KICK),
          7:23. Drive: 7 plays, 40 yards in 4:05. Key
          plays: Johnson 11-yard punt return to
          Jacksonville 40; 5-yard offsides penalty on
          Jaguars' Walker on 4th-and-1 to Jacksonville
          26; Thomas 20-yard run to Jacksonville 6.
          CHICAGO 33-6
JAC - TD, JIMMY SMITH 3 YD PASS FROM MARK BRUNELL (JARET
          HOLMES KICK), 11:10. Drive: 8 plays, 73 yards
          in 3:47. Key plays: Brunell 19-yard pass to
          Joseph to Jacksonville 46; Brunell 22-yard pass
          to Smith to Chicago 23; Brunell 9-yard pass to
          Brady to Chicago 14; 4-yard defensive holding
          penalty on Bears' Green on 3rd-and-7 to Chicago
          3. CHICAGO 33-13

PLAYER STATISTICS

PASSING
JAC         Att-Cmp-Yds TD Int
Mark Brunell 36  19 189  2   3
CHI         Att-Cmp-Yds TD Int
Jim Miller   28  19 159  1   0
Marty Booker  1   0   0  0   0

RUSHING
JAC             Att  Yards
Stacey Mack      11     66
Elvis Joseph      4     19
Mark Brunell      1      6
CHI             Att  Yards
Anthony Thomas   33    160
Leon Johnson      6     10
Jim Miller        1     -1

RECEIVING
JAC             Att  Yards
Keenan Mccardell  9     93
Jimmy Smith       7     63
Elvis Joseph      1     19
Kyle Brady        1      9
Patrick Washington  1      5
CHI             Att  Yards
Marty Booker      6     37
Ahmad Merritt     2     20
David Terrell     2     17
James Allen       1     13
Anthony Thomas    1     11
Daimon Shelton    1      7
John Davis        1      5
Fred Baxter       1     -1

JAC tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial)
Hardy Nickerson 9-2-0, Ainsley Battles 8-0-0, Donovin Darius 7-2-0, Tony Brackens 6-0-0, Jason Craft 5-0-0, Kiwaukee Thomas 5-0-0, Marcus Stroud 4-0-0, Edward Thomas 4-0-0, Seth Payne 3-1-0, Gary Walker 2-0-0, Marlon Mccree 1-0-1, Renaldo Wynn 1-1-0, Eric Westmoreland 1-0-0, Todd Fordham 0-0-0, Keenan Mccardell 0-0-0, Paul Spicer 0-0-0, Rob Meier 0-0-0, Patrick Washington 0-0-0, Kyle Brady 0-0-0.

CHI tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial)
Michael Green 7-0-1, Jerry Azumah 4-1-0, Warrick Holdman 4-1-0, Mike Brown 3-0-0, Rw Mcquarters 3-1-0, Tony Parrish 3-1-0, Keith Traylor 2-0-0, Phillip Daniels 2-0-0, Alfonso Boone 2-0-1, Brian Urlacher 2-1-1, Rosevelt Colvin 1-0-1, Greg Jones 1-0-0, Bryan Robinson 1-0-0, Ted Washington 1-0-0, Todd Mcmillion 1-0-0, Joe Tafoya 0-0-0, James Williams 0-0-0, Ahmad Merritt 0-0-0, Dustin Lyman 0-0-0.

Missed field goals: Jacksonville (Mike Hollis 36).

Interceptions
Chicago (Rosevelt Colvin 1 for 14 yards, Jerry Azumah 1 for 14 yards, Keith Traylor 1 for 67 yards).

Fumbles lost
Chicago (Jim Miller).

Opponent's fumbles recovered
Jacksonville (Paul Spicer).

Officials
Referee-Dick Hantak, Umpire-Carl Madsen, Head linesman-George Hayward, Line judge-Bob Lewis, Field judge-Jim Saracino, Side judge-Bill Vinovich, Back judge-Don Dorkowski.

A: 66,944; T: 2:55.

TEAM STATISTICS               JAC            CHI

FIRST DOWNS                    17             19
Rushing                         5             10
Passing                        11              8
Penalty                         1              1
3RD-DOWN EFFICIENCY          4-11           6-16
4TH-DOWN EFFICIENCY           0-0            1-2
TOTAL NET YARDS               237            322
Total plays                    56             70
Average gain                  4.2            4.6
NET YARDS RUSHING              91            169
Rushes                         16             40
Average per rush              5.7            4.2
NET YARDS PASSING             146            153
Completed-attempted         19-36          19-29
Yards per pass                3.7            5.1
Sacked-yards lost            4-43            1-6
Had intercepted                 3              0
PUNTS-AVERAGE              5-35.0         3-32.7
RETURN YARDAGE                101            150
Punts-returns                 0-0           2-25
Kickoffs-returns            7-101           3-30
Interceptions-returns         0-0           3-95
PENALTIES-YARDS              3-14           3-14
FUMBLES-LOST                  0-0            1-1
TIME OF POSSESSION          24:47          35:13


Game Story


CHICAGO 33, JACKSONVILLE 13
---------------------------

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- It was fitting that the Chicago Bears
celebrated their first division title in 11 years with another
sterling performance by their opportunistic defense.

In a game which featured a 67-yard interception return by
304-pound tackle Keith Traylor, the defense forced three
turnovers which led to 13 points and the Bears rolled to a 33-13
victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The win clinched Chicago's first NFC Central Division title
since 1990 and a first-round playoff bye.

"Let's strap open the party boots and let the party begin,"
Bears quarterback Jim Miller said. "There's not a more deserving
team than us. Whatever team we have to play (in the playoffs),
we'll play."

The Bears (13-3) lost a chance to get home-field advantage
throughout the playoffs when the St. Louis Rams beat the Atlanta
Falcons later Sunday.

The 13 wins under coach Dick Jauron is the most for the Bears
since they went 14-2 under Mike Ditka in 1986.  Ditka and George
Halas are the only other Chicago coaches to post as many as 13
wins in a season.

"I hope it's all in front of us and I'm happy about getting the
bye," Jauron said.  "We just need to do what we've been doing
all along which is to play like a team.  This team has a lot to
be proud of."

The favorite for coach of the year honors, Jauron was believed
to be on the way out in Chicago after going 11-21 in his first
two seasons.

Ironically, on Sunday he got to celebrate a division title in a
game against his former mentor Tom Coughlin.

Jauron was the defensive coordinator for Jacksonville from
1995-1998 before taking the Bears' job and remains close to
Coughlin.

Rookie Anthony Thomas rushed for 117 of his 160 yards in the
second half, including a two-yard touchdown, and Paul Edinger
kicked four field goals for Chicago.

A second-round pick out of Michigan, Thomas rushed for 1,183
yards to eclipse Rashaan Salaam's club rookie record of 1,074
yards in 1995.

"Anthony was really something faster than people had thought,"
Jauron said.

Hampered by injuries to running back Fred Taylor and tackle Tony
Boselli, the Jaguars (6-10) finished tied for last in the AFC
Central with their worst record since a 4-12 campaign in 1995,
their inaugural season.

Sunday's game turned into a microcosm of the season for the
Bears, who yielded an NFL-low 203 points and had a turnover
ratio of plus-13.

The Bears scored 10 points in the final 1:17 of the first half
on a two-yard touchdown run by Leon Johnson and a 23-yard field
goal by Edinger, following an interception by cornerback Jerry
Azumah, to open a 13-0 lead.

The Bears opened the second half with a turnover when Miller
fumbled after being sacked by rookie safety Marlon McCree and
defensive end Paul Spicer recovered for the Jaguars at the
Chicago 36.

But after Mark Brunell connected with Keenan McCardell on a
16-yard pass to the Chicago 20, Traylor made the play which will
be a staple of NFL highlight reels.  Brunell intended to hit
running back Stacey Mack with a short pass, but Traylor reached
up with his right arm and intercepted it at the Chicago 24.
Rumbling to his right, Traylor chugged all the way to the
Jacksonville 9 while looking over his shoulder for a possible
lateral before he was brought down by McCardell.

"We needed a big play at the time and the ball landed in my
hands," Traylor said.  "I said 'oh no, now I've gotta run.'  I
was looking for someone to pitch it to and they never showed
up."

Two plays later, Miller threw a nine-yard TD pass to rookie
David Terrell, increasing the lead to 20-0 with 9:40 left in the
third quarter.

"The start of the third quarter was kind of indicative of the
game," Coughlin said.  "We got a turnover, we turned it back
over, they scored and it was 20-0."

The Jaguars marched 70 yards in seven plays on their next drive
and Brunell capped it with a 15-yard scoring pass to McCardell
with 6:59 left in the third quarter.  The extra-point attempt
failed due to a bad snap.

The Bears responded with a nine-play, 59-yard drive as Thomas
broke off runs of 34 and eight yards.  Edinger capped it with
his third field goal of the game, a 25-yarder with 1:52
remaining in the quarter.

The defense set up more points when linebacker Rosevelt Colvin
returned an interception 14 yards to the Jacksonville 25.  After
an 11-yard run by Thomas, Edinger kicked a 22-yard field goal
2:04 into the fourth quarter to increase Chicago's advantage to
26-6.

Thomas, who had 33 carries, broke off another 20-yard run later
in the quarter and scored on a two-yard touchdown with 7:37
left.

Brunell hit Jimmy Smith with a three-yard touchdown with 3:50
remaining.

McCardell had nine catches for 93 yards and Smith caught seven
passes for 63 yards.

Smith finished second in the NFL with 112 receptions for 1,373
yards.  Rod Smith of the Denver Broncos topped the NFL with 113
catches.

Chicago's Marty Booker had six catches for 37 yards, giving him
100 receptions for 1,071 yards.