National Football League

Bears prove a point to skeptics

Published Sep. 27, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

By the end of Monday night’s game, even skeptics like me were ready to take the plunge with his Chicago Bears.

A gritty 20-17 home victory proved that those who had touted Chicago as a legitimate playoff contender entering the season weren’t taking a leap of faith. The Bears (3-0) not only stand alone atop the NFC North. They also are the conference’s last undefeated franchise.

“We felt good about ourselves,” Bears linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa said. “But we really didn’t know how good we were until tonight.”

The rest of the league didn’t either. Even with prior victories against Detroit and Dallas, Chicago was considered a notch below the highly touted Packers (2-1).

Not anymore. The offseason tinkering done by Chicago’s front office — notably the hiring of offensive coordinator Mike Martz and signing of defensive end Julius Peppers — has paid immediate dividends.

Briggs had just finished playing a major role in helping Chicago win a back-and-forth battle. Briggs and fellow linebacker Brian Urlacher hustled to hit wide receiver James Jones near the Packers sideline with 2:18 remaining. Urlacher stripped Jones and cornerback Tim Jennings recovered to give Chicago possession on Green Bay’s 46-yard line. The Bears parlayed the miscue into Robbie Gould’s 19-yard field goal with four seconds left for the win.

“We needed a play,” Briggs said. “In situations like this against teams like this, big-time players have to play big.”

Briggs and Urlacher had Dick Butkus-caliber efforts on a night when the Bears honored the legendary Monsters of the Midway defense. They tied for the team lead in tackles with nine apiece. Quarterback Jay Cutler didn’t wilt despite constant Packers pressure in a 16-of-27 passing performance. Peppers — Chicago’s $91 million free-agent acquisition — terrorized Green Bay’s offensive line and blocked a field goal. Although he didn’t register a sack, Peppers drew multiple false-start penalties that helped contribute to the Packers setting a franchise penalty record (18 for 152 yards).

Those mistakes from the NFL’s most flagged team in 2009 looked awfully familiar. So did Green Bay’s shoddy special-teams play. Hester burned the Packers on two game-changing punt returns. The first came late in the first half. Packers rookie Tim Mashtay booted a low-hanging 35-yard punt — “a fastball right down the middle” is how Hester described it — that was returned 28 yards to the Packers 44. That helped lead to Chicago’s first touchdown — a much-needed momentum swing with Green Bay having taken a 10-0 lead.

Hester put Chicago ahead for the first time early in the fourth quarter with a 62-yard punt return, marking his first touchdown in that fashion since December 2007. Hester then took a page from the Packers with his end-zone celebration.

Chicago already has improved by leaps and bounds since last season. The 2009 Bears finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season, putting head coach Lovie Smith squarely on the hot seat. Since then, the Bears have greatly improved their passing game under Martz. The ultra-talented Cutler has shown great improvement by reducing his turnovers. Peppers and Briggs, combined with the return of a healthy Urlacher, give Chicago one of the NFL’s best front sevens. The absence of three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris — a healthy performance-based scratch Monday night — was barely noticed.

But even with these upgrades, the 1972 Dolphins shouldn’t be sweating their perfect record. The Bears are still a flawed group. Chicago’s secondary was repeatedly gouged by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (34-of-45 passing for 316 yards). The offensive line also remains shaky from both a protection and rushing standpoint with starting running back Matt Forte gaining only 29 yards on 11 carries.

“It wasn’t pretty, but I like ugly wins better than ugly losses,” Urlacher said.

Urlacher was wise enough to avoid making a comparison between this year’s club and the 2006 Bears — a squad that also started with the same unbeaten record en route to a Super Bowl appearance.

At that point, we’ll know if the Bears are still soaring or have come crashing back to earth. But that doesn’t diminish the heights already reached by a team surrounded by doubts entering the 2010 campaign.

“When you’re down a little bit, you have a chance to show your character,” Smith said. “We have great leadership on our team. It’s early in the season still, but we’re going to finish out this first quarter on a high note.”

And for that, Bears fans can jump for joy.