NFC Championship, 2006: Chicago 39 New Orleans 14

Game information
Although the Saints outgained the Bears in total yards, 375–335, their four turnovers (three fumbles and one interception) contributed to a Bears victory.

On the opening drive of the game, Saints receiver Devery Henderson caught a 40-yard pass at the Bears' 32-yard line. But three plays later, Bears defensive end Israel Idonije sacked quarterback Drew Brees on the 36-yard line, and the Saints decided to punt rather than attempt a 54-yard field goal.

With 5:28 remaining in the first quarter, Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher recovered a fumble from Marques Colston and returned it 14 yards to the Saints' 36-yard line. Several plays later, Robbie Gould kicked a 19-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3–0 lead. Then, Chicago's Danieal Manning recovered a fumble from Michael Lewis on the ensuing kickoff, setting up Gould's second field goal to increase the lead to 6–0. New Orleans was forced to punt on their next possession, and Devin Hester gave his team good field position with a 10-yard return to the Saints' 49-yard line. Two plays later, tight end Desmond Clark's 30-yard reception moved the ball to the 19. Once again, New Orleans kept Chicago's offense out of the end zone, but Gould kicked his third field goal to give the Bears a 9–0 lead. Then, after forcing another punt, Chicago stormed down the field on a drive in which running back Thomas Jones carried the ball on eight consecutive plays, gaining 69 yards and finishing it off with a 2-yard touchdown run. This time, New Orleans managed to respond, with Brees completing five passes for 73 yards on their ensuing possession, the last one a 13-yard touchdown pass to Colston, to cut their deficit to 16–7 by halftime.

Two plays after forcing a punt from Chicago on the opening drive of the second half, running back Reggie Bush caught a pass from Brees and took it 88 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to two points. Then after forcing another punt, New Orleans drove to the Bears' 29-yard line. But this time, they failed to score, as Brees threw three incompletions and Billy Cundiff missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.

After the ensuing kickoff, Brad Maynard's 51-yard punt gave the Saints the ball at their own 5-yard line. Two plays later, Brees committed an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone, resulting in a safety. Two possessions later, Chicago stormed 85 yards in five plays, with quarterback Rex Grossman completing four consecutive passes for 73 yards, the last one a 33-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian, increasing their lead to 25–14.

The next time the Bears had the ball, they scored another touchdown with a 12-yard run by Cedric Benson on a drive that was set up after Brees lost a fumble while being sacked by Adewale Ogunleye. Then, on New Orleans' next drive, Brees was intercepted by Vasher. After the ensuing possession, Maynard's 46-yard punt pinned the Saints at their own 8-yard line, and the Saints could only reach their own 30 before turning the ball over on downs. Five plays later, Jones closed out the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown run, making the final score 39–14.

In addition, Bush became the fifth Heisman Trophy winner to play in a conference championship game the year after winning the trophy. Mike Garrett, who also went to the University of Southern California, did so with the Chiefs in 1966 (technically it was the AFL title game since the league didn't merge until 1970), Tony Dorsett did with the Cowboys in 1977, Earl Campbell did with the Houston Oilers in 1978 and Ron Dayne did with the Giants in 2000. Campbell and Bush are the only two of those to not advance to the Super Bowl in that season. (Bush has since vacated the Heisman Trophy due to ineligibility during the 2005 NCAA football season.)

This was the second postseason meeting between the Saints and Bears. Chicago won the previous meeting 16–6 in the 1990 NFC Wild Card playoffs.

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