Bears defense is the real hero
As statement games go, Thursday night's victory against the Packers at Lambeau Field was as big as any the Bears have had in years.
And it was the defense, especially, that announced itself as a force to be reckoned with.
The 17-13 victory marked the fourth straight game the Bears have held an opponent to under 20 points. In the last five games, the defense has allowed just 6 touchdowns.
The stars of the defense are ... well, there really aren't any. No one from Vic Fangio's crew is going to the Pro Bowl after this season. But there have been a wide variety of heroes, and the defense is the common denominator in the Bears' 5-3 record over the last eight games.
The stingy defense has enabled the Bears to win games when the offense scored 17 points, 18 points and 22 twice.
The biggest star of the defense might be Fangio, at least if you listen to five-year veteran Chris Prosinski.
"We had great communication, and everyone was just focused on their job," Prosinski said of the secondary. "Coach (Fangio) put us in great positions. For me, he's a genius. He's the first coordinator I've had that I can really understand as far as what he's trying to do with the game plan. A lot of credit goes to him."
Prosinski, the journeyman safety, has started the past two games in place of Antrel Rolle, who's out with a knee injury.
Prosinski made one of the key plays against the Packers, when he forced an Eddie Lacy fumble in the second quarter that was recovered by Lamarr Houston at the Green Bay 34-yard line and led to the Bears' first touchdown.
"I just pursued from behind and tried to wrap up and get an arm on it," Prosinski said. "Right when I got contact, I felt the ball slip, but I wasn't able to see what had happened until I saw the pile."
Prosinski, along with rookie safety Adrian Amos, and cornerbacks Tracy Porter, Kyle Fuller and Bryce Callahan were all exceptional in Green Bay. Their coverage helped limit Aaron Rodgers, the highest rated quarterback in NFL history, to a 62.4 pass rating, more than 43 points below his career average of 105.6.
"You don't ever plan to really shut him down because of the elite quarterback that he is," said Prosinski, who got the first sack of his career in the Bears' previous game. "But for us, the safeties and secondary, (we) disguised things a lot of the time. (Rodgers) likes to get to the line of scrimmage and read what the defense is and manage the game that way. So we just tried to hold our coverages."
Porter got his first interception of the season, and just the second of the season by the Bears' secondary, with 3:19 left in the game and the Bears clinging to the 17-13 lead.
"The front seven did a good job of putting pressure on him," said Porter of his interception that was intended for Davante Adams. "I read the route that he was trying to make. They were trying to make a quick throw, and I just beat him to the spot."
Porter also broke up a potential TD pass intended for James Jones with 36 seconds left on the Packers' third-and-goal play from the eight-yard line. The well-traveled eight-year veteran is playing with his fifth team in five years. He had 4 pass breakups, one more than the Packers had as a team.
With extremely winnable home games the next two weeks against the 3-7 San Francisco 49ers and 4-6 Washington, the Bears and their defense have an opportunity to make a couple more major statements.
• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.