"He had the ball under his arm and nothing but brown grass in front of him. This was going to be perhaps the greatest Brian Urlacher highlight of all time. The clip of him returning an Aaron Rodgers interception for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in perhaps the most antici­pated game in Bears history would be replayed forevermore.

The only thing between the Bears' iconic middle linebacker and the end zone was Rodgers himself. It was a mismatch if there ever was one. Then Urlacher tried to cut back, only to find Rodgers getting an arm on him, tripping him and sending him crashing down after a 39-yard return.

Rodgers passed for 244 yards and ran for a touchdown in the Packers 21-14 win over the Bears in Sunday's NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field.

But his biggest play may have been that potentially game-saving tackle.

''He threw it at me,'' Urlacher said. ''I don't know if he didn't see me or what. He threw it at me and tackled me. That's what I saw.''

Urlacher's day paralleled that of the Bears. He, like his defensive mates, missed some tackles early, which contributed to the Packers jumping out to a 14-point lead. He played his best football after that, however, helping set the stage for a frantic rally that fell short when third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie was intercepted by cornerback Sam Shields with 37 seconds left.

Urlacher finished with a sack, an interception and 10 tackles. It was a typical performance for him in a comeback season during which he proved he still ranks among the NFL's elite linebackers after missing all but the season opener in 2009 with a wrist injury.

In the end, however, it wasn't good enough. "