Guyton, defense show it's not all offense for Patriots

It was quite a day of firsts for Gary Guyton on Sunday.

The Patriots' third-year linebacker picked off his first NFL pass and scored his first NFL touchdown on a 35-yard fumble recovery during New England's 36-7 victory over the Bears at Soldier Field.

Guyton was the nearest player to the football after teammate Devin McCourty stripped the ball from the Bears' Johnny Knox on a short completion into the flat.

“It was a great play made by Devin,” Guyton said. “Devin came in and took the ball away.

“The ball was rolling by itself. There was nothing between me and the goal line, so I just scooped and scored. It was a good feeling.”

Bears coach Lovie Smith challenged, hoping Knox's rear end came down before the ball was pried loose, but to no avail. Referee Mike Carey told a groaning crowd that Knox had come down on McCourty's foot, meaning he was not yet on the ground.

Was McCourty worried during the review? Not a chance.

“Just play until the whistle is blown and let the refs figure it out,” he said.

McCourty's interception of a pass intended for Matt Forte thwarted a potential third-quarter scoring drive.

“Gary did a great job for us,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “He's played well for three years. … He had a good play today, scooped it up, had an interception. It was (also) a nice play by Devin (McCourty) getting the ball out. We were able to turn that into a score. That was a big play for us.”

Overall, the New England defense has really stepped it up since allowing 17 points in the first half on Thanksgiving to Detroit.

Since then, the Lions (in the second half), the Jets and the Bears managed just 17 points in 10 quarters while the Patriots' offense has put up a mind-boggling 111 points.

The Bears had just 185 total yards, converted 3 of 8 third downs and turned the ball over four times.

“(Darn) proud of our football team today,” Belichick said. “It was a short week, coming off a tough (Monday night) game against the Jets, and then coming in here and playing the Bears. It was a big challenge for us, but they really rose to the occasion.”