Goal-line stand helps revive Bears' defense

If the Bears use Sunday's victory over Philadelphia as the springboard to a successful season, the fourth-quarter goal-line stand would have to be the turning point.

Some players already have proclaimed it.

"That goal-line stand is going to be a big boost for us the rest of the season," safety Mike Brown said. "We needed that. It was the fourth quarter; we're down to the nitty-gritty."

By stopping the Eagles three times from the 1-yard line, the Bears hung on to a 24-20 lead and improved to 2-2 instead of dropping into a 1-3 hole from which about 15 percent of NFL teams have escaped since 1990 to land a playoff berth.

Since 2002, only 13.3 percent of 1-3 teams have made it to the postseason.

Defensive tackle Israel Idonije, who filled in for injured Tommie Harris and had 1 sack along with 4 other tackles, said Bears defenders created the defining moment by refusing to give ground with their backs against the wall and their feet in their own end zone. That moment had escaped them the previous two games.

"We had that identity of being a defense that can make that play consistently," Idonije said. "It was just that those two games before that, we hadn't finished, and we hadn't done that.

"To come in and say, 'All right, it starts today; playing our style of defense starts today.' It was big."

Correll Buckhalter picked up 3 yards on first-and-goal from the Bears' 4-yard line, but the Eagles couldn't travel the final yard. Tony Hunt was stuffed by Kevin Payne and Mike Brown on second down. Buckhalter couldn't budge Adewale Ogunleye and Anthony Adams on third down. On fourth down, the tailback was engulfed by Alex Brown and Lance Briggs, along with Idonije and Ogunleye.

"For (Brown) to make the play on fourth-and-inches, that means all the guys up front were able to be stout enough for him to come off the edge," Ogunleye said.

"It's a game of inches, and I think you'll see on fourth down everybody was in exactly their (correct) gaps, and everybody did exactly what they were supposed to do."

Being in the right place was the topic of discussion in the Bears' huddle.

"It was just, 'Do your job,' " Idonije said. "When he snapped the ball, you could just feel the tension on the line from our guys, and everybody just went all-out."

Nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek said the entire defense got into the proper frame of mind.

"You've got to know there's no way they get in that end zone," he said.

Dvoracek, who was in the middle of the action at the goal line, said he follows a simple process in that situation.

"Getting off the ball, lowering my head and driving my feet," Dvoracek said. "I said, 'They're not coming through my gap.' "

In that final sequence, there weren't any gaps in the Bears' defense for the Eagles to get through.

• There were no updates provided on injuries to cornerback Charles Tillman (shoulder), wide receiver Brandon Lloyd (knee), cornerback Nate Vasher (thumb/wrist) and defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee), although coach Lovie Smith said Tillman's injury was "nothing serious."