Bears in no rush to get to Griese

No, there wasn't a magnetic field surrounding Bucs quarterback Brian Griese that prevented the Bears "pass rush" from getting to him on any of his 67 passes, 38 of which were completed - including 2 for touchdowns.

So why did Griese's uniform not need laundering?

"They max-protect some, but to give you a reason why, I don't really know right now," said Bears coach Lovie Smith. If you let him throw that many times, when you have that many snaps (84), normally the defensive linemen will tire a little bit in the end."

That doesn't explain why the Bears didn't get to their former teammate on the first 40 or 50 pass attempts.

"When you max protect and take three steps and you throw the ball, you're not going to get there," defensive end Alex Brown said. "They max protect, you got two receivers out; we gotta be able to cover them. Now, as a defensive line we have to get to the quarterback; as a secondary we have to cover them. So, everybody do their job; that's all we gotta do."

Extra points: Rookie running back Matt Forte had his third straight impressive outing, rushing for 89 yards on 27 carries and catching 7 passes for 66 yards, including a 6-yard TD, which was the first receiving TD by a Bears tailback since James Allen on Nov. 4, 2001.

Forte is second in the NFL with 409 yards from scrimmage (304 rushing yards on 73 carries and 105 yards on 13 receptions). ... Brian Griese's 67 passes tied for the fifth most in NFL history and were the most ever by a Bears opponent. ... The defensive meltdown left the Bears' defense No. 28 against the pass with an average yield of 250 yards per game.

Claim to fame: Defensive tackle Tommie Harris blamed Bucs offensive tackle Jeremy Trueblood for much of Sunday's chippy play.

"He's dirty," Harris said. "He wants you to know that. Since he's not that talented and not that good, he wants you to know that, 'I'm the dirtiest player.' "

Sitting it out: Devin Hester (ribs) was inactive along with defensive tackle Anthony Adams, safety Craig Steltz (ankle), guard Dan Buenning, offensive tackle Chris Williams (back), defensive tackle Matt Toeaina and wide receiver Earl Bennett. Rookie Caleb Hanie was the third quarterback.