Bears Win, 20-14, Still Miss Playoffs : NFC: Chicago players don’t learn until after beating Eagles that they’d been eliminated.

Elation quickly turned to heartbreak for the Chicago Bears after they finished the season victorious but found themselves out of the playoffs.

Just moments after wrapping up a 20-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bears learned that they wouldn’t be advancing to the postseason because Atlanta rallied to stun San Francisco. Chicago needed for Atlanta to lose or tie.

“We were happy we were playing well. We were just rejoicing that we won,” Bear tight end Keith Jennings said. “But the attitude changed after we found out what happened.”

Added safety Marty Carter: “When I first heard, I was heartbroken. When you dominate a team and still come up short, it hurts.”

The Bears (9-7) were 6-2 at midseason and were pointing toward home-field advantage in the playoffs. But they lost five of six games before rebounding with home victories over Tampa Bay and Philadelphia.

“We can all sit around here and think of a catch or a kick or a tackle that would have given us 10 or 11 wins,” Coach Dave Wannstedt said. “It’s a darn shame but you can’t depend on somebody else, you’ve got to control your own destiny. I feel bad for the players and for the fans.”

Just as the Eagle-Bear game ended, the Falcons took a 28-27 lead over San Francisco. But Soldier Field public address announcer Jack Lloyd told the departing crowd that Atlanta was losing 27-22, eliciting a loud cheer.

It wasn’t until after the fans started making their way home that they learned that the Bears were out of the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.

Philadelphia (10-6) clinched a postseason spot last week but blew a chance to gain home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Eagles, who play host to red-hot Detroit next weekend, could have won the NFC East and had the best record in the conference--if they won and if Arizona beats Dallas tonight.

The Eagles have lost 14 in a row in Chicago.

“We played terribly,” Eagle Coach Ray Rhodes said. “I didn’t see anything positive. We got dominated at the line off scrimmage and that can’t happen. This is a team we are capable of beating.”

Ricky Watters, who went into the game with 1,260 rushing yards, was held to 13 yards in 12 carries by the Bears. And Rodney Peete had a shaky game at quarterback, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble.

“The game was important,” said Peete, who had won nine of his first 11 games after taking over for Randall Cunningham. “We had the opportunity and we didn’t show up. I’ll take all the blame. You can point the first finger at me. I have to play better. We have a poor showing next week, we’re going home.”

Rhodes said Peete would start against Detroit in the playoffs.

Chicago won behind two touchdown passes from Erik Kramer, 122 rushing yards from Rashaan Salaam and three sacks from Alonzo Spellman.

Kramer’s scoring passes of one and 13 yards to Jennings gave him 29 this season--one more than the team record Sid Luckman set in 1943. Kramer, 15 for 30 for 169 yards, already owned club records for attempts, completions and yards. He was the only NFL quarterback to play every snap for his team this season.

Salaam finished with 1,074 rushing yards, breaking the previous Chicago rookie record of 1,004 yards by Beattie Feathers in 1934. Salaam did fumble twice, his seventh and eighth lost fumbles this season, and spent the fourth quarter on the bench, replaced by Lewis Tillman.

“I’m real disappointed to end my season on two fumbles,” Salaam said. “That’s the first time I’ve been benched since Pop Warner.”

Salaam fumbled on the Bears’ fifth play from scrimmage but Peete fumbled the ball right back to Chicago on the next play. Kramer then passed to Jennings in the left flat and the big tight end rumbled for the touchdown.