Porter primary factor in Chicago Bears' secondary

It may come as a shock to some that cornerback Tracy Porter is one of the key contributors on a Chicago Bears defense that has allowed an average of 14.3 points in the past three games - but not to Porter.

He was inactive for the first two games this season because of a hamstring injury, and he didn't start until Game 4.

But the 5-foot-11, 188-pound, eight-year veteran leads the Bears with 14 pass breakups, including 10 in November. His Thanksgiving interception was one of his 4 pass breakups that day, the most ever against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

"It definitely heightens the confidence a little bit," Porter said of his recent performances, "but, like I've said time and time again, confidence in my play was never in question. My skill set was never in question. It was just (about) me being healthy.

"Once I'm fully healthy, I know what I can do. Everyone in this locker room and in the front office, they know what I can do. Otherwise they wouldn't have brought me here."

A player who couldn't make it through training camp without being injured might have worried about being cut, especially one playing for his fifth team in five years. And it's not like the Bears had a lot of money invested in the injury-prone corner - $870,000 for one year.

But Porter's connections with Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox were enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. Pace spent 14 years in the Saints' personnel department, during which time Porter was drafted in the second round (2008) and played four seasons with 39 starts.

After the well-traveled Porter left New Orleans, the first of his four stops in four years was in Denver (2012), where Fox was the head coach.

"Foxy had me in Denver. He knew what caliber of player I was," Porter said. "Ryan had me when I was in New Orleans. He knew the type of player I was. I think I showcased a little bit in training camp and in the off-season of what I can bring to the table."

After his slow start, Porter has been a major player on a Bears defense that is No. 2 in the NFL in passing yards allowed.

His interception late in the fourth quarter at Green Bay helped preserve the 17-13 victory. With 29 seconds remaining he did it again, breaking up a pass to James Jones in the end zone on third down.

"I think he's played pretty well over the last month," Fox said. "He had an injury bug earlier, but he's been able to get healthy, and he's performed pretty well and improved every week."

Porter also has been a positive influence on second-year cornerback Kyle Fuller, whose play has improved with the older veteran providing a steadying influence in the secondary.

"He's a very knowledgeable player," Fox said of Porter. "He knows how to study tape. A lot of guys look at tape … sometimes I'm not sure what they're looking at.

"He's very, very smart that way. He's been around the league, route concepts, splits, receiver locations; a lot of things that a young guy might not know that he shares with that whole room."

On his interception against the Packers, Porter was in better position than intended receiver Davante Adams.

He was asked what role luck plays in those clutch situations when he frequently is in position to make a play.

"Luck maybe comes around once or twice," Porter said. "But if it starts to happen repetitively, you just say you have a knack for it. I have a pretty good feel for the game (and) what's going to happen in certain situations.

"I'm not going to say I know what's going to happen, although it may look like that. I don't know what's going to happen. I just have a good feel for it, reading my keys, trusting my abilities and trusting that (our) front seven is going to force the quarterback to make an errant pass."

That's when Porter comes in.