EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- There was a noticeable lack of jersey-popping, of asking for respect because of what happened more than eight days earlier, no begging for love to be shown. Winning at San Francisco on a Sunday night and beating the New York Jets in the Meadowlands the following Monday night isn't to be taken for granted, especially for a Chicago Bears team hardly anybody expects to be special.
Jared Allen, the grizzled vet, decided very quickly as he entered the locker room what he liked most about beating the Jets, and it wasn't Jay Cutler's second straight game with no interceptions or the quarterback's 94.7 passer rating, nor the team's plus-2 turnover advantage, nor the defense allowing only one touchdown on the night.
"I'm probably most impressed," Allen said, "by the humility of the team, to go back to work this week and approach tonight as if last Sunday in San Francisco never even happened. You think you know what the answer will be. But you have to actually do it to find out, to know for sure."
There was nothing dominant about Monday's 27-19 win over the Jets, who actually outgained the Bears by more than 150 yards, averaged 4.4 yards per rush and were robbed of four points when Jerome Boger, a recent Super Bowl referee, cost New York four points by blowing dead a Cutler fumble that should have resulted in a return-for-touchdown and not an eventual field goal. But the Bears, by virtue of what has happened these past two weeks, could be one of those teams that could do something which escapes most fans and media (but not coaches and players), which is to say, win now ... and get good later.
Looking for a sign? How about plus-6 in turnover margin the past two weeks? Plus-4 against the 49ers, followed up by plus-2 against the Jets. No interceptions for Cutler for the second consecutive week. The defense seems to be coming together ... not quickly, but gradually, enough that Allen and tag-team graybeard Lance Briggs think they saw something again Monday night. "We're far from peaking," Briggs said. "We've got guys playing together for the first time ... and we're not close to a finished product."
Allen said, "The sign to me was the play of our young guys. I've been on teams with young guys who are just a little too cocky. We don't have one rookie on this defense who acts entitled. ... And with the injuries we had, we needed them to step up and really produce tonight, and they did."
By "they," Allen was talking about cornerback Kyle Fuller, who had another interception; about tackle Ego Ferguson, who ripped through the Jets for an early sack of Geno Smith; about Will Sutton at the other defensive tackle and Christian Jones at linebacker; about Brock Vereen, who was forced to play more than the coaches had planned because of the injuries to fellow safeties Chris Conte and Ryan Mundy.
"They all had a humility and an excitement to play," Allen continued. "Fuller doesn't say much of anything; he just works and works. Ego and Will had to play tonight, and they didn't play like rookies. Last year [as a member of the Minnesota Vikings] the thing I noticed was [the Bears] didn't have any depth when they suffered all those injuries to front-line guys. But now, we have depth."
Even Cutler said of the defense, which stopped the Jets on fourth down late to end it, "The defense ... they're getting some edge to 'em, forcing turnovers."
In the meantime, the offense isn't exactly overpowering, not at 257 yards and 20 points. But again, there are signs. Even as receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery play through injuries, Cutler knew when to lean heavily on tight end Martellus Bennett, all 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds of him. "They're all 6-4 or bigger, plus a huge range," Cutler said afterward. "You put it in an area and they're gonna catch it."
And this time it was Bennett's turn. He's never going to have the impact on games the way, say, Rob Gronkowski did a couple of seasons ago in New England. Cutler targeted Jeffery 13 times Monday (with Marshall injured) and Bennett eight. Bennett caught five balls, two for touchdowns, giving him four for the season.
Bennett is likely the biggest character in the Bears' locker room. He feigned being offended by Rex Ryan last week when Ryan called Marshall/Jeffery/Forte "monsters" but left out Bennett.
"Hey, when you talk about me have a little enthusiasm," Bennett said afterward. "If they're monsters, I'm a monster, too! I'm more than just a big guy; I run my routes. I'm not just a spare tire you throw on the car. ... See, I can play with a chip on my shoulder."
Don't the New York Giants wish they hadn't gotten rid of that chip before last season, and didn't Bennett know exactly where he was Monday night as he caught those two touchdown passes.
The Bears rushed for a mere 60 yards Monday, and the No. 1 rushing defense in football held Matt Forte to 33 yards in 13 attempts. That might frighten fantasy owners everywhere but it shouldn't concern the Bears in the least, since Forte picked up some very necessary yards to secure the fourth-quarter field goal which pushed the lead, importantly, from five points to eight.
It all seems to be morphing into something, piece by piece, an improving pass-rusher here (Willie Young), an emerging cornerback there (Fuller), a late-blooming tight end here (Bennett, who is 27), a couple of mentors there (Briggs and Allen). Nobody will much mention the offensive linemen after this game because Cutler was sacked four times, but Cutler wisely decided to eat it a couple of times, and the line more than held its own against a carnivorous Jets defensive front that had hoped to be a lot more disruptive than it was.
Bottom line, the Bears are in darned good shape three games into the new season, tied with the Detroit Lions atop the NFC North, a game ahead of the struggling Green Bay Packers and Vikings, who could list completely depending on what happens with Adrian Peterson. Speaking of the Packers, they visit Soldier Field on Sunday, and the Bears can feel pretty good about their chances if they find healthy corners to actually put on the field against Aaron Rodgers.
If there's a pleasant surprise so far it's the way the defense is gradually finding its way. Allen talked about the time necessary to have a bunch of new players effectively deal with a new monster like the zone-read, in which patience and discipline are required but have to be learned. Allen said it could take until early December before the defense becomes all it can be, but added, "In the meantime, while you're learning all the nuances, we can't take steps back and we can't make excuses."
The Bears haven't needed either the past two weeks, but the schedule ahead is frightful, what with the Packers on deck and trips upcoming to Atlanta, Carolina and New England. The mood Monday was strangely controlled after a road victory, which somebody always wants to celebrate in the NFL. It was a room without declaration or proclamation, which, as Allen said, might be telling. As Cutler cautioned, "We have a lot of veterans on this team who know how quickly it can go good or go bad."
For another week, at the very least, there's every reason for the Bears to think it's the former, not the latter.