During the game, head coach Lovie Smith replaced Kyle Orton with a fully healed Rex Grossman. In the following week, the Bears clinched the division with a dominant performance at Lambeau Field on Christmas Day (the first time the Bears ever played on Christmas). For the first time since 1991, they swept the Packers; they also secured the NFC North Division title. The Bears ended the regular season with an 11–5 record, enough for 2nd place in the NFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs. In addition, Lovie Smith received NFL Coach of the Year honors. In the NFC divisional playoff game the Carolina Panthers defeated the Bears 29–21, ending the Bears' season. Panthers' receiver Steve Smith had 12 receptions for 218 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers' offense dismantled the Bears' top-ranked defense. The Bears had a final chance to force overtime, but Rex Grossman's 4th-and-1 pass intended for Muhsin Muhammad fell incomplete with less than a minute to go in the game. The Bears started the 2006 season by winning their first seven games, marking their best start since the 1988 season. The Bears started the season by establishing a strong offense under the helm of a healthy Rex Grossman. Grossman, who was inactive for the most of his first three seasons because of injuries, earned a "FedEx Offensive Player of the Month Award", a 100.9 passer rating during the first month of the season. During one of the games, Grossman threw four touchdowns and earned a passer rating of 148. The Bears’ defense also made headlines, allowing the Bears to outscore their opponents, 221–69 during the first two months of the season. However, the Bears showed a glimpse of mortality during this period. After defeating the Buffalo Bills 40–7, the Bears traveled to Glendale, Arizona, to face the Cardinals, where Grossman committed six turnovers in a seemingly lost effort. With less than twenty minutes remaining, the Bears’ defense and special teams mounted a comeback that allowed the team to overcome a 20-point deficit and win the game, 24–23. After a decisive 41–10 crushing of the 49ers, where the Bears scored 41 points in the first half, tying the record by the 1940 Championship Game victory, Grossman had another turnover ridden performance against the Miami Dolphins (which reminisced the 1985 season), where the Bears lost 31–13, the most points the team allowed that season. The team bounced back with a staunch performance against the New York Giants, in which Devin Hester tied Nathan Vasher's longest missed-field goal return record, and a shutout victory over the New York Jets.