THE NFL PLAYOFFS : Bears Beat Eagles in Pea Souper Bowl, 20-12 : Chicago Rolls Past Philadelphia as Fog Blankets Soldier Field

You just couldn’t see the Chicago Bears beating the Philadelphia Eagles Saturday in their National Football Conference semifinal playoff game.

Oh, the Bears won, 20-12. You just couldn’t see it.

Or much of anything else on a day when fog, rolling in off Lake Michigan, severely hampered visibility at Soldier Field. Veterans in the press box said it was the worst they’d seen, or rather not seen, at this stadium in half a century.

Who knows? When they review the film, they may yet discover Philadelphia won.

Mike Ditka vs. Buddy Ryan? This was more like Sherlock Holmes vs. Professor Moriarty.

But in the end, as is often the case at Soldier Field, blue sky or no sky, the game came down to the Bear defensive unit. Ranked No. 2 in the National Football League, it lived up to its ranking, intercepting 3 Randall Cunningham passes and holding the Eagles to 52 yards rushing.

And the Eagles helped out by constantly breaking down offensively. Penalties, dropped passes, missed opportunities--Philadelphia was guilty of all that as it failed to reach the end zone despite the fact that Cunningham completed 27 of 54 passes for 407 yards.

At times, the players couldn’t even see the end zone.

“What I could see was about 20 yards downfield,” Cunningham said. “If you take your 10-yard dropback, you could see only about 15 yards.

“We had to change to our short routes. They knew that. But let me say first, we beat ourselves.”

And much to the delight of the crowd of 65,534. Or at least that portion of the crowd that could see what was going on. Pity the poor fan who shelled out $30 to sit in a seat and watch the blurry figures fade in and out of the mist. Kind of like paying for a big fight to be beamed into your living room only to have the picture go out on your television set.

In the press box, the media were reduced to listening to reports from the field or watching monitors.

How often do you hear the public address announcer say, “There’s word of a flag on the field.”

Never mind instant replay. Saturday’s game may begin a debate over the use of radar.

It was a great day for getting away with holding, 12 men on the field or the hidden-ball trick.

It would have been a great afternoon for legendary Bear runner Red Grange, known as the Galloping Ghost.

So much for the home-field advantage. The fans can’t cheer for what they can only hear.

Strangely enough, the day began with a bright blue sky and the temperature in the 30s.

It was under those conditions that the Bears took an early lead.

Quarterback Mike Tomczak, starting his first NFL playoff game, made his first completion a memorable one, connecting with Dennis McKinnon on a 64-yard touchdown pass play in the first quarter.

“There was a problem with the coverage, and I think we might have had the right play called,” Tomczak said. (Receiver Glen) Kozlowski cut underneath, and I think the corner (Roynell Young) was starting to move inside, apparently thinking Dennis was also going inside. Dennis just headed upfield and had the corner beat. It was a great fake on Dennis’ part.”

It also helped that safety Andre Waters, the only man with a shot at McKinnon, fell down.

He got up after McKinnon had caught the ball at the Philadelphia 40 and had a shot at the Bear receiver but missed the tackle, leaving McKinnon to celebrate the last 15 yards.

In all, Tomczak completed 10 of 20 for 172 yards before he was forced out in the third quarter on a play in which he had his third interception, this one to Terry Hoage.

Reggie White hit Tomczak, reinjuring the left shoulder that Tomczak had separated several weeks ago.

Jim McMahon, originally forced to the sideline with a twisted knee and then kept there by Tomczak’s success as a starter, finished the game.

Ditka, the Bear coach, said he would wait to see how severe Tomczak’s injury is before naming a starter for next week’s NFC championship game, where the Bears will play host to the winner of today’s Minnesota Vikings-San Francisco 49ers game.

After giving up the bomb to McKinnon, the Eagles responded with their own aerial attack.

Remember, the sun was still out at this point, and the end zone was clearly in sight.

But beyond reach.

On their first drive after the touchdown, the Eagles wound up with nothing when Luis Zendejas missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt.

Philadelphia got the ball back on the first play of the Bears’ next drive on Seth Joyner’s interception.

Then came one of the Eagles’ most frustrating drives of the season, exceeded only by its next drive.

More about that later.

Taking over at the Chicago 30, Philadelphia drove to the 9, where Cunningham hit Cris Carter with a pass in the end zone.

The apparent touchdown was called back because of illegal motion by running back Anthony Toney.

So Cunningham came right back and fired it into the end zone again. This time, 4 men touched the ball. Defenders Dave Duerson and Mike Richardson got a hand on it. Carter also got a piece, batting the ball into the arms of fellow receiver Mike Quick.

Touchdown at last?

Not quite. Again a penalty. Again Toney. This time holding.

So the Eagles settled for Zendejas’ 42-yard field goal. In all, he would kick 4, the others coming from 29, 30 and 35 yards.

The Eagles’ frustration, however, was just beginning.

On their next drive, they reached the Chicago 4, where they faced a fourth and 1.

Cunningham kept the ball on a draw and was hit at the line by Dante Jones.

The officials brought out the chains. And measured. And checked. And checked again.

The verdict?

Short by an inch.

On their next drive, the Eagles again apparently had a touchdown in their grasp. Keith Jackson was wide open in the end zone, but he jumped too soon for Cunningham’s perfect pass and dropped it.

Chicago took the ensuing kickoff and drove to another touchdown, Neal Anderson going in from the Eagle 4 off left tackle.

By now the fog rolled in, and the Eagles were ready to roll out of postseason play.

The Bears added 6 points on Kevin Butler’s field goals of 46 and 27 yards.

When it was over, Eagle Coach Buddy Ryan, a former assistant at Chicago, where he had a long-running feud with Ditka, was asked if he had shaken hands with his former head coach.

“What,” he asked, “was there to shake about?”

NFC Playoff Notes

The Chicago interceptions were by Mickey Pruitt, Vestee Jackson and Maurice Douglass. . . . Keith Jackson, despite his drop, had a big day receiving with 7 catches for 142 yards. Running back Keith Byars made 9 catches for 103 yards. Byars was Philadelphia’s leading ballcarrier with 34 yards in 7 carries. . . . Thomas Sanders led Chicago with 94 yards rushing, 58 coming on a second-quarter run.