Bush celebrates prematurely, immaturely
In a bit of dash and daring that proved to be the high-spice mark for the Saints, Reggie Bush -- the gold-standard rookie running back from USC -- took a short pass from Drew Brees on New Orleans' second play from scrimmage in the third quarter and rocked, rolled and dismembered 88 yards for a touchdown.
The score trimmed the Bears' lead to 16-14. But the fleur-de-lis near its end would leave Bush apologizing afterward for the exuberance of NFL playoff youth.
Late in the run, Bush turned and pointed at the nearest Bears defender, who just happened to be don't-tread-on-me middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. As he neared the goal line, Bush added gymnastics to his open-gait glee by executing a perfect somersault into the end zone. Double fault, Mr. Bush.
''That was disappointing,'' said Bears free safety Danieal Manning, who was an early victim of Bush's juking on the electrifying play. ''I'm sure we will play these guys again, and that won't be forgotten.''
Said Bush: ''I just got caught up in the emotion of the game. It was a big play. I let emotion get the best of me. I was hoping to make more big plays.''
Saints coach Sean Payton said Bush immediately apologized to him on the sideline.
''He was getting excited, and we all kind of were,'' Payton said. ''Believe me, Reggie Bush knows he does not want to insult Brian Urlacher.''
The Saints' pulse-racing was understandable. After spotting the Bears a 16-0 lead, New Orleans mounted an eight-play, 73-yard drive inside the final two minutes of the first half to pull to 16-7. Bush's theatrics brought the Saints the closest they would get to the lead in the second half.
''When I scored, we all thought we were on a roll,'' Bush said. ''We thought we had turned the momentum around. It was exactly how we wanted to start the second half.''
But few could know it also was the play that would end New Orleans' scoring. One drive later, Billy Cundiff missed a 47-yard field goal short, and it was all Bears after that. Part of the reason for the Bears' dominance was the fact that Payton and Brees manufactured precious few ways to get Bush the ball with any room to jump and jive.
In the end, the Heisman Trophy winner finished with only 14 touches: four rushes for 19 yards, seven receptions for 132 yards and three punt returns that netted 10 yards. The Saints ran the ball only 12 times against an array of Bears defenses schemed to deny rushing yardage. New Orleans netted 56 yards on the ground, with Bush's 19 leading the soft parade. Deuce McAllister added 18 yards.
As for his free-falling faux pas, Bush begged for perspective.
''Obviously, I knew I made a mistake,'' he said. ''But I'm not going to kill myself or anything over it.''
