Posted at 11:31 a.m., Sunday, December 30, 2007
NFL: Bears' Hester's 2 TDs send Saints out of playoffs
By RICK GANO
AP Sports Writer
Hester sprinted 64 yards for a TD with a punt return — his NFL-record sixth kick runback for a score this season to break his own mark set a year ago — and also caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Orton as the Chicago Bears beat the Saints 33-25 today.
When the teams met 11 months ago for the NFC championship on the same field, the Bears earned a trip to the Super Bowl with a 39-14 victory. Now they're both going home before the playoffs even start.
New Orleans' slim chances hinged on beating the Bears and hoping for losses later in the day by the Redskins and Vikings.
Chicago (7-9) was eliminated from the postseason picture two weeks ago. The Bears won their final two games, their only two-game winning streak all year.
Drew Brees and Marques Colston hooked up for two first-half touchdown passes, and Brees set a single-season NFL record for completions, passing the previous mark of 418 set by Rich Gannon in 2002. He needed just 11 entering the game
But Colston, who took several hard shots, hurt his left wrist late in the first half and spent the second half on the sideline, taking away the Saints' chief threat. Running back Reggie Bush was out with a knee injury.
Brees completed 35 of 60 passes for 320 yards with three TDs.
After the Saints (7-9) went three-and-out on the first series of the second half, they punted to Hester. He went right and then quickly cut back left, found a seam and easily outraced would-be tacklers to put the Bears ahead 31-17.
