Lake Forest, Ill. ? All along, the Chicago Bears claimed they would reach this point. They said they would make the playoffs, then stuck together through a tough start and proved their preseason predictions were more than just hollow training camp chatter.

And here they are.

After a first-round playoff bye, after a season proving the doubters wrong, the Bears play host to the Carolina Panthers today, with the winner advancing to the NFC championship game.

It all seemed unlikely, especially after a loss to Cleveland that dropped Chicago to 1-3 and left linebacker Lance Briggs wondering: “Are we that bad?”

The answer was an emphatic no. The Bears won eight straight after that, 10 of their last 12, and captured the NFC North. Along the way, they dominated the Panthers, 13-3, at Soldier Field, sacking Jake Delhomme eight times.

Now, they meet again.

The Bears are in the playoffs for the first time in four years and are looking for their first playoff victory since beating Minnesota in the first round following the 1994 season. After going 13-3 and earning a bye in 2001, they lost by 14 to Philadelphia.

The Panthers became the first road team since 1980 to score a playoff shutout when they beat the New York Giants, 23-0, in the opening round last week. The defense forced five turnovers and the offense ran over a Giants team hurt by injuries to its linebacking corps.

DeShaun Foster rushed for 151 yards after going for 165 against Atlanta the previous week.

None of this seemed to awe Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, who cut off a question about the Panthers’ running game this week by saying, “We’re not the Giants.”