For Bears, it's simple: Just win, baby

Like most people, the Bears were thrilled to escape Detroit without being mugged Sunday.

As the Ford Field clock wound down, there were hugs all around as Lovie Smith hugged Mike Martz and Martz hugged Brian Urlacher and Rod Marinelli hugged Smith.

Go ahead and call them the Huggy Bears if you want.

Heck, Jay Cutler even had a nice word on the way past referee Ed Hochuli after barking at the officials a week earlier.

Listen, the Bears' 24-20 victory over the Lions wasn't anything to be loud about, but that doesn't mean it wasn't something they could feel proud about.

“It was going to be a tough game, a fight,” Cutler said.

The Bears might even have been lucky, as they were accused of being so many times earlier in the season.

One of this game's pivotal plays involved Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh being penalized for allegedly whacking Cutler on the back of the head with a forearm.

The district attorney on “Detroit 1-8-7” might have declined to prosecute for lack of evidence because replays indicated it wasn't a forearm and wasn't to the head.

The penalty stood, however, and contributed to the winning touchdown drive.

“I saw it exactly the way the officials did,” Smith deadpanned.

This was the second time this season that the Bears beat the Lions on an official's discretion. Regardless, the Bears have a 9-3 record and are closing in on a playoff berth and perhaps an NFC North title.

“Just a good victory for us,” Cutler said. “We weathered the storm.”

Sometimes the way to get out of the rain against a 2-10 team like the Lions is to not let them hang around. Pound them early, pound them late, and pound them all around.

Sometimes, though, the better team has to be the one that hangs around and plays a ground-acquisition game as George Carlin described football waiting for the opponent to mess up.

You know, like the Lions doing something dumb like Suh's hit on Cutler, legal or not.

“Every week it's tough to win,” Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said. “There are no easy opponents. Detroit always plays us tough here.”

Will the Bears have to play better at home against New England next week? Absolutely. Does the schedule overall get tougher from here with the Patriots, the revived Vikings, the Jets and the Packers remaining? Absolutely. Most relevantly, will the Bears lose if they qualify for the postseason and play this way? Absolutely.

The Bears will have to start faster than they did against the Lions. The defense will have to avoid giving up a 2-play, 91-yard drive at the end of the first half. The offensive line will have to protect Cutler better.

The Bears were playing so badly for so long, even the customarily stoical Smith had to shake his head on the sideline at one point.

Smith said when asked whether he was upset, “Yeah, you could say that.”

Still, this is no time of the season to quibble about style points. Just win, baby, by making one fewer mistake than the opposition, or at least be one play luckier.

The Bears aren't good enough to apologize for beating any team any way they can, not even the Lions the way they did Sunday.

Hugs all around, fellas. Now go back to work and get better so the Patriots don't embarrass you next week.