2005 Chicago Bears season The 2005 Chicago Bears season was their 86th regular season and 24th post - season completed in the National Football League . The club posted a 11 - 5 record , earning them their first NFC North title and the second seed in the NFC for the playoffs . The season started off with the club trying to rebound from a 5 – 11 season under now sophomore coach Lovie Smith . Smith was eager to lead his young team to a Super Bowl , but a preseason injury to starting quarterback Rex Grossman spelled disaster for the Bears . The Bears began the season on a negative note , winning only one of their first four games . Despite their poor passing game , the Bears managed to win eight consecutive games through a perseverant defense and running game . The Bears eventually clinched a playoff berth on Christmas Day against the Green Bay Packers . However , in their first playoff game in almost four years , Carolina Panthers upset the Bears , 29 – 21 . Offseason . Training camp . Hopeful expectations were crushed as quarterback Rex Grossman ' s ankle was broken in the 2nd preseason game against the St . Louis Rams . Backup quarterback Chad Hutchinson was benched and cut after struggling heavily in the next two preseason games against the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills . The Bears then turned to rookie Kyle Orton to lead their offense . Rookie running back Cedric Benson held out of training camp over a contract dispute until just before the final preseason game . His absence in camp meant that Thomas Jones would be the starting running back going into the regular season . Despite all these setbacks , the Bears were still hopeful because franchise middle linebacker Brian Urlacher had made it through the preseason in good health , unlike the year before when he battled injuries all season , beginning with a pulled hamstring on the first day of training camp . Regular season . Standings . " W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , PCT = Winning Percentage , PF = Points For , PA = Points Against " Playoffs . NFC Divisional Playoff : vs . Carolina Panthers . The Bears would host their first playoff game since the 2001 season against the red hot Panthers , fresh off a victory over Eli Manning and the New York Giants . Things were bad from the beginning for the Bears , who allowed a 58 yard Jake Delhomme TD pass to Steve Smith just 55 seconds into the game . Cornerback Charles Tillman slipped on the play , and it would only signify things to come the rest of the game for the vaunted Bears defense . The Panthers would add 2 field goals to their total before the Bears would get their first points . The Bears offense got off to a slow start , having their first 5 possessions end in punts . Their first score came midway through the second quarter , when running back Adrian Peterson scored a touchdown on a 1 yard run . The Bears had opted to go for it on 4th down to get the score , cutting the Carolina lead to 13 - 7 . Before the half expired , the Panthers ' John Kasay kicked a 37 yard field goal with 5 seconds left in the half , extending the lead to 16 - 7 . The Bears offense came out at halftime firing on all cylinders , mounting an 8 play , 68 yard drive to close to within 2 points of the Panther lead . It was a balanced drive that led to the score , with the Bears running and passing 5 times each , with Rex Grossman capping the drive with a 1 yard TD pass to Desmond Clark . The spark provided by the offense would be short lived , as midway through the 3rd quarter , Delhomme went deep to Steve Smith again , this time for a 39 yard touchdown that put the Panthers up 23 - 14 . Chris Thompson , a reserve defensive back for the Bears , fell down on the play to let Smith slip past him . The Bears would manage to score one more time on a drive that started with 2 : 07 remaining in the 3rd quarter . Grossman would complete 3 of 4 passes on the drive , and running back Thomas Jones almost scored on a 7 yard run . After a replay challenge by Carolina , however , the officials reversed the call to say that Jones had fumbled into the endzone , which would have resulted in a Carolina touchback . However , a major facemask penalty on Carolina defensive back Marlon McCree would give Chicago a first down at the Carolina 3 . From there , fullback Jason McKie would rumble in for a touchdown , making the score 23 - 21 in favor of the Panthers . The Panthers would extend their lead once more with a 1 yard Delhomme pass to tight end Kris Mangum . Kasay would miss the extra point try though , making the Panther lead 29 - 21 . When the Bears offense would start moving the ball once more , disaster struck for the Bears , as on a 3rd - and - 10 play from the Carolina 37 yard line , Grossman threw an ill advised interception to Ken Lucas . It appeared that the play clock had expired before the snap , which would have resulted in a Chicago 5 yard penalty rather than an interception . The officials , however , apparently didn ' t see that the clock had expired , and the interception would stand , resulting in a gut wrenching loss for the Bears .