2006 Chicago Bears–Arizona Cardinals game
University of Phoenix Stadium, the site of the game. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | October 16, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Bears by 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Jerome Boger | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 63,977 | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Tony Kornheiser and Joe Theismann (color commentators) | ||||||||||||||||||
On October 16, 2006, during Week 6 of the National Football League (NFL) regular season, the Chicago Bears defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 24–23, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The undefeated Bears staged the "comeback of the year" against the 1-win Cardinals after trailing by 20 points at halftime. This game is the first game in which the Bears won after trailing by 20 or more points since 1987 (they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27–26). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first win in Bears history in which they trailed by at least 20 points in the second half, and the Cardinals became the first team in NFL history to lose consecutive games in a season after being ahead by 14 or more points at the end of the first quarter in each of their games. The Bears also set an NFL record for the biggest comeback without scoring an offensive touchdown in league history. Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart became the first quarterback in history to throw at least 2 touchdown passes in each of his first 2 career starts. The last time a team won after committing 6 turnovers was on December 21st, 1986, which coincidentally, also featured the Bears committing 6 turnovers in a 24-10 win against the Dallas Cowboys.
The postgame press conference was notable for Cardinals head coach Dennis Green's profanity-laced rant, highlighted by the quote "But they are who we thought they were! And we let 'em off the hook!". The game was ranked #6 on NFL Top 10 on NFL Network for Top Ten Greatest Comebacks of All Time under the title "Cardinals Blow It"/"Monday Night Meltdown", as well as Top Ten Meltdowns at #7.