With a 5–9 record, the Rush won its last two games of the regular season to get a playoff spot. In the playoffs, the Rush managed to pull off key upsets. In the Wild Card Round, the Rush defeated the fourth-seeded Nashville Kats 55–47. In the Divisional Round, Chicago managed to pull off a huge upset by taking down the defending champion Colorado Crush, 63–46. In the Conference Championship they upset the second-seeded San Jose SaberCats 59–56, giving the Rush their very first ArenaBowl appearance in franchise history.