Bears take away much from super win

It’s only one game.

If we heard it once, we heard it a dozen times in the Bears’ locker room Sunday.

It’s what we’re told to remember about any opener, and certainly one in which a team wins big and yet has so much room to improve.

So Bears fans can be forgiven for thinking about Sunday’s 30-12 thrashing of the Falcons as something slightly bigger.

Especially considering the defensive concerns going in, it was at times both devastating and dominating.

Yes, the offense still has its issues.

The red zone’s a problem, the tackles looked like they were starting their first NFL game at their position — they were — and Mike Martz acted in the fourth quarter like he was coaching a preseason game, trying to put quirks on film for future opponents.

But the special teams gave the Bears field position, and the defense allowed 6 points to a monster offense while taking the ball away three times.

And for the disciples of Lovie Smith, putting into practice what he preaches about take-aways is divine.

“It’s all about turnovers,” said defensive back D.J. Moore. “The stat, I believe, is that if you’re plus-2, you win 90 percent of the time. Today we were plus-2 and I guess that makes it 100 percent for us today.”

With the game tied at 3-3 and Atlanta on the Bears’ 35, on second-and-2 Moore chased Falcons QB Matt Ryan to his right and forced him into a bad throw, resulting in Brian Urlacher’s highlight-reel interception.

Three plays later, the Bears had a 10-3 lead.

“The (Falcons’) offense got all the credit before this game,” Moore said with a grin. “I think we got a pretty good defense, too.”

On the second play of Atlanta’s next possession, Michael Turner rolled for 8 yards to the Bears’ 42 when Charles Tillman stripped the ball, his 25th career forced fumble and the most by a defensive back since he entered the NFL in 2003.

That changed field position, the Bears were able to pin the Falcons deep, and two possessions later, Robbie Gould made it 13-3 Bears.

“We always try to be plus-2,” Tillman said, sounding the gospel. “We work at it in practice. We stress it. We talk about it. We expect it to happen and we’re ready. It’s not a surprise.”

It was a big moment for Tillman, who didn’t have the best beginning to his season, getting beat a couple of times early and missing a pair of tackles.

“I know I can be a lot better,” Tillman said. “Maybe that wasn’t a great start. I think I was too hyped up.

“It was so emotional with 9/11 and the crowd all whipped up and it’s the first game and I was like jumping out of my shoes. I needed to calm down.”

The defense kept it going on the next Falcons possession when Julius Peppers tipped a pass, causing a 6-yard loss and destroying yet another Atlanta drive.

It wasn’t a turnover, but it had the same effect.

The Bears followed with a 14-play, 72-yard drive for a field goal that put them up 16-3 and gave them a huge edge in first-half time of possession, 18:13 to 11:47.

“Momentum is definitely contagious,” Tillman said. “We felt pretty good about the football game at that point. There was a lot of time left.”

But the Bears’ pressure up front was just too much for the Falcons to handle, and though the Bears’ secondary was a big question before the season, Peppers and his fellow linemen made certain it wouldn’t cost them the game Sunday.

“That was incredible,” said corner Tim Jennings. “We didn’t have to cover for very long because the pressure was fantastic.”

Peppers was an absolute beast, and he put the game away midway through the third when he sacked Ryan, forcing a fumble that Urlacher scooped up and ran in from 12 yards out for a 30-6 Bears lead.

“The defense made plays for us all day. They took the ball away and we held on to it. We have to do that,” said center Roberto Garza, preaching to his teammates, the proverbial choir. “The defense played a heck of a game.”

The Bears’ defense did make plays, all day and in every way, and yet there is work to do.

“We’re decent right now,” Urlacher said. “We made mistakes. We can be much better.”

Atlanta had more yards, plays and first downs, while the Bears won in turnovers and time of possession (33:19 to 26:41).

For one week they answered questions about their collective age on defense and whether they could generate enough pressure up front to make up for questions in the back.

On offense, Jay Cutler was hit too hard and too often, and the Bears lost two starters on offense when guard Lance Louis left with an ankle injury and receiver Roy Williams pulled a groin.

They also face two brutal tests the next two weeks in New Orleans and home against Green Bay.

But they’re 1-0.

“You only have one chance to get off to a good start,” Tillman said with a smile. “We did that. We have the best record in the league.”

And any team with the best record in the NFL has every right to take note of the fact that Indianapolis is hosting Super Bowl XLVI and it’s only 146 days away.

That, by the way, is also only one game.

Of course, anyone who worships at the House of Lovie already knows that.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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