ROSEMONT, IL - It was the game that might have been, could have been, should have been proof positive that the Rush had turned the corner on the season and were ready to make a run at the playoffs. The squad that took the field against the New Orleans VooDoo on Sunday showed signs of the intensity and defensive prowess of Rush teams of the past. Scuffling started as the VooDoo left the field after pre-game warm-ups and reappeared throughout the first quarter. Rush OL/DL John Moyer gave VooDoo QB Andy Kelly and his offensive line plenty to worry about throughout the game. Tackling was surer and harder than it had been in recent weeks. QB Raymond Philyaw returned from two weeks off to nurse his ailing knee. Some bounces went the Rush’s way for a change. Even the officiating seemed better.

But the Rush were not able to put all of the ghosts of a frustrating first half of the season behind them. They continued to be haunted by dramatic failures in short-yardage situations. Kick returns remain an adventure. And Philyaw, known as a quarterback who takes care of the football, threw his sixth interception of the season in overtime. The result: a heartbreaking 46-40 loss that sent the Rush into a midseason bye week with a record of 4-4 and serious questions about their ability to execute at crucial moments.

The offenses dominated the first half of the game, as neither team saw a fourth down in the first thirty minutes. In fact, there were only three third down plays. The closest either team came to a defensive stop in the first half was VooDoo kicker Brian Schmitz’s failure to convert two extra point opportunities.

The VooDoo opened up the scoring with a one yard TD run by FB/LB Leroy Thompson. Rush OS Henry Douglas took the ensuing kickoff off the slack net and streaked 58 yards down the sideline for Chicago’s first score.

The offensive onslaught by both teams continued. VooDoo OS Carl Bond made his first appearance of the season and quickly became Kelly’s favorite target of the day, connecting for three touchdown strikes in the first half.

The Rush worked on improving their goal line offense during practices and discussions all week. "We probably overworked on it," quipped head coach Mike Hohensee. That work paid off in the first half. WR/LB Etu Molden dashed in for a one yard score at the end of the first quarter. Playing tight end on the offensive side of the ball, Moyer caught a one yard pass in the end zone to help the Rush keep pace with the VooDoo in the second quarter.

Fresh off the injured reserve list, Rush receiver Jeremy McDaniel contributed a nine yard touchdown reception for Chicago’s final score of the first half. Only three seconds remained when the Rush took possession after the VooDoo’s fifth touchdown of the first half, and FB/LB Jamie McGourty’s 21 yard scamper down the sidelines was not enough to even the offensive tally before the intermission.

The VooDoo’s opening kickoff of the second half bounced off the bottom of the net iron hard into the turf and high into the air, beyond the reach of Henry Douglas and off the fingers of DS Jeroid Johnson. The VooDoo recovered the ball in a mad scramble at the three yard line.

The Rush defense stepped up to the challenge three plays later, standing up Thompson a foot from the goal line. Rush FB/LB Bob McMillan stripped him of the ball, and Johnson grabbed the ball off the goal line and advanced it 11 yards.

Given a new lease on life, the Rush offense responded with a two play drive culminating in a 27 yard Philyaw touchdown pass to Molden, who escaped a mugging in the end zone to get open for the catch that put Chicago ahead for the first time in the game.

The Rush defense poured it on again, forcing Kelly into three straight incomplete passes from his own end zone. Schmitz’s 60 yard field goal attempt was well short of the mark, putting the Rush in position to solidify their lead.

Catches by Douglas and WR/DB Russell Shaw and a New Orleans holding penalty gave the Rush first and goal at the four yard line, but those goal line gremlins reappeared and stymied the Rush’s efforts. There appeared to be some miscommunication between Philyaw and McGourty on first down, and Philyaw wound up taking it himself for a yard. Philyaw’s second down pass bounced out of a diving Douglas’s hands at the goal line.

After the game, Coach Hohensee said, "On third down, the last thing I said to [Philyaw] as he was leaving was ‘keep it’. He boot-faked out of there, I thought he was going to walk in with it, but then he handed it off. So it’s things like that – miscommunication – that hurt." McGourty was bottled up at one yard line on third and fourth downs, and the VooDoo regained possession.

Once again, the Rush defense came to the rescue. McGourty dropped VooDoo receiver Lamont Moore just inside the end zone for a safety to give the Rush a 37-33 lead and the ball with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter. After the ensuing kickoff, the Rush drove down the field once again, with McMillan’s six yard run to the VooDoo one yard line giving the Rush a first and goal and moving himself into second on the AFL’s all-time rushing list.

But once again the offense sputtered within an arm’s reach of the end zone. On first down, Philyaw pitched wide to McMillan – a play that worked time and again last season – for no gain. Philyaw was flushed from the pocket on second down and lineman John Sikora, pass eligible as tight end, was looking upfield as the ball fall to the turf unattended. Philyaw’s third down pass was deflected at the line. Hohensee had seen enough and sent out the kicking unit. Keith Gispert’s field goal from the 17 yard line stretched Chicago’s lead to 40-33 with 10:49 to play in regulation.

The Rush defense very nearly saved the day once more, but on fourth and seven from the Chicago 16 yard line Kelly connected with Bond for his fourth touchdown catch of the day to even the score at 40-40 with 6:19 remaining. Both teams’ defenses held sway for the rest of the contest, and both kickers missed field goal attempts, sending the game into overtime.

Under AFL overtime rules, each team gets a possession in the 15 minute period. If the score is still tied after both possessions, the game goes to sudden death.

The Rush had the advantage going into overtime as they took possession first, but things quickly went awry. Philyaw dropped the ball in the end zone while rolling out on first down. He managed to pick the ball up on the bounce and flipped it to Molden at the four yard line to salvage the play. Philyaw found Molden again on second down for a 17 yard pickup to give the Rush a first down at their own 21 yard line. And then disaster struck as Philyaw threw an ill-advised pass into double coverage, where it was intercepted by VooDoo DS Chris Pointer at the three yard line.

Coach Hohensee took a share of the blame for the errant pass. "I don’t think it was a great call on my part," he said. "[Philyaw] could have pulled it down and threw it away, but that didn’t happen."

The VooDoo quickly advanced down the field with completions to three different receivers, punctuated by an eight yard pass lofted into the end zone to OS Aaron Bailey over Jeroid Johnson, who appeared to have been injured on the previous play but stayed in the game.

"I thought our guys, for the most part, played well enough to win that football game," said Hohensee. "That is one of the elite teams in this league, and I thought that a majority of the time we outplayed them. But, unfortunately, the goal line area hurt us again."

Looking ahead to the bye week and the second half of the season, Hohensee said, "It’s like half-time of the game. We can’t hang our heads. We have to figure out as a coaching staff what we have to do to get better, who we have to play at certain positions to give ourselves the best chance of winning."

Next week: our Rush midseason report card.