In 2000, the Bears were spinning their wheels in Dick Jauron’s second season — 4-11 heading into Week 17 against the Lions in the Pontiac Silverdome — when they suddenly finished with a flourish. Down 10-0 early on the road to a team that needed to win to make the playoffs, the Bears responded like they never had before.
A defense that had little bite and was third-to-last in the NFL in takeaways had two huge defensive plays from an unlikely source — reserve cornerback R.W. McQuarters returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown and had a sack and forced fumble that set up Paul Edinger’s 54-yard field goal with two seconds left that beat the Lions, 23-20.