Bears' defense gets job done in second half

DETROIT -- It's OK to ask for confirmation whether that was the Bears' defense on Sunday, whether you can believe what you saw.

For the first time all year, the Bears allowed a rush longer than 30 yards.

Heck, they allowed 40-yard-plus gains on back-to-back snaps when Detroit scored at the end of the first half.

For the first time since Oct. 21, 2007, the Bears won without forcing any turnovers. That's another reason they didn't look like themselves.

Lastly, for the first time all year, the Bears didn't play well defensively.

Wait, scratch that last one. Defensive end Julius Peppers will explain.

“You obviously have bad days,” Peppers said. “Or a unit can have a bad day. Today we had a bad day on defense.

“Well, we had a bad half early because we missed tackles.”

The Bears surrendered 253 total yards and 17 points in the first half. But after intermission, the Bears gave up 49 total yards and 3 points.

The only reason Detroit managed the field goal was because Jay Cutler lost a fumble in the red zone.

So what changed?

“Attitude, attitude, attitude,” linebacker Lance Briggs barked as Brian Urlacher man-hugged Jesse Jackson in the locker room.

“It became a game where the defense, we needed pride and to make some more plays. That's what ended up happening.”

If you want to be more technical, Detroit's offense tested the Bears on the perimeter in the first half and made things happen.

You know those games where the first tackler always seems to miss? There were enough in the first half to fill a whole Bears game.

“There's no explanation for it,” Peppers said. “No way to say, ‘Well, we missed tackles because of this.' We just didn't get it done.”

With mobile third-string quarterback Drew Stanton at the controls, the Bears had to respect his ability to run as well as the Lions' willingness to throw the ball outside.

On third-and-goal from the 3 in the first quarter, Stanton faked a throw to the sideline and ran a draw 3 yards for a 7-0 lead. Stanton then hit a painful version of the “Dougie” dance in the end zone.

“That was a bad ‘Dougie,'” said Bears nickel back D.J. Moore.

But the Bears remained at the mercy of Stanton's moves until the second half.

“Whatever we were doing, we weren't doing it good,” Moore said. “And we changed in the second half.”

That's when they stuffed virtually everything Detroit tried.

The biggest plays came early in the fourth quarter with the Lions facing third-and-less-than-a-yard from the Bears' 41.

Peppers and Brian Urlacher stuffed Jahvid Best for no gain on third down. Stanton tried a play-action bootleg on fourth down, but Peppers forced him to lob his pass to Nate Burleson softly enough that Moore got there to break it up.

“It's man-to-man,” Moore said. “You've got to keep your eye on your man. That's what I'm talking about with fundamentals.

“If Coach tells you keep your eyes on your man, then keep them on your man.”