Bears' defense tough when it matters most

When it comes to defense, is it better to be good or opportunistic?

The Bears are making a strong case for opportunistic, winning their last two games on the strength of 7 take-aways that have more than made up for allowing huge chunks of yardage. Some clutch play in the red zone helped a lot Monday night as well.

In Week 2, the Bears allowed 361 yards in a victory over the San Francisco 49ers. But they took the ball away four times and did not turn it over.

Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker's unit gave up 414 yards in Monday's 27-19 victory over the New York Jets, but they forced 3 turnovers - a pair of interceptions and recovered a fumble - while the offense gave it away just once, for a plus-2.

"That's what we teach as one of the cornerstones of defensive football: We need to force take-aways," said safety Ryan Mundy, who had the first pick Monday night and returned it 45 yards for a TD only 32 seconds into the game.

"Our goal is to be plus-2 every game. That's something that we harp on through the week, and it carries over into the game."

Through three weeks, the Bears are tied with the New England Patriots for the most take-aways in the league with 8. Their 6 interceptions are tied for the top spot with the Patriots and the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bears have converted their 8 take-aways into 35 points, second in the NFL to the Atlanta Falcons, who have 38 points off take-aways.

The Bears converted 3 turnovers into 14 points Monday. The other 7 points came on Jay Cutler's first touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett after Ahmad Dixon recovered a muffed punt.

Mundy's TD was the first score of his six-year career and the interception the third of his career. Rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller has that many in just three NFL games, after his end-zone interception killed a Jets red-zone possession and preserved the Bears' 24-13 advantage.

Fuller's 3 interceptions are the most in the NFL, and he also forced 2 fumbles Monday, although the Jets recovered both.

"I can't say enough about Kyle," said Mundy, who was unable to finish the game because of a shoulder injury. "He's a very hard worker, a mature young man who's doing an excellent job for us."

The win at MetLife Stadium on Monday was the first time in the Marc Trestman era that the Bears held an opponent to fewer than 20 points. It was accomplished in great part by limiting the Jets to 1 touchdown on six red-zone opportunities.

"That was significant," Trestman said. "Our red-zone defense really was excellent, We made them go the long, hard way, but we were able to make the plays down there and hold them to 3 points."

Three times the Jets settled for field goals after having reached the Bears' 20. They also gave it up on downs with 58 seconds left, and Fuller's interception stopped another drive.

Doubters may say a defense can't count on turnovers, but Mundy sees it differently.

"It's a mindset, so I believe you can (count on it)," he said. "If you don't think that you can do it, then it probably won't happen. So we practice it, we work hard at it, we drill it into our heads that we're going to get turnovers."

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