Nick's Quick Column: Bears Defense Gives "Lovie-Smith" Type of Performance

The Bears’ home win drought is over. For nearly a year – 364 days to be exact – Bears fans had not seen a Bears’ victory at Soldier Field, but that came to an end as the Bears defeated the Lions 17-14.
The Bears recorded their first win in 2015 in Week 4 and did the same this season. Head coach John Fox can breathe a huge sigh of relief.
With the Bears’ victory came the resurgence of the fourth phase, a phase that has been irrelevant due to the Bears’ poor play. But the Bears felt that home field advantage as they rallied around the energy of the crowd on each defensive series.
The Bears held the sixth highest scoring offense (27ppg) to two field goals and intercepted Matthew Stafford twice. Those defensive statistics are reminiscent of former Bears head coach Lovie Smith’s defense.
Turning back the clock, the Bears had their first 100-yard rusher with rookie Jordan Howard going for 111 yards on 23 carries. Under Fox, only running back Matt Forte had a 100-yard rushing game – and that was week one of last year against the Packers.
Howard showed he can make defenders miss and catch the ball out of the backfield. He also showed patience, as he allowed his linemen to create lanes.
Not only did the Bears have a 100-yard rusher, they also had a 100-yard receiver with Eddie Royal catching seven passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Royal wasn’t the only receiver who played well. Kevin White caught six passes for 55 yards. White is becoming more of a factor in the offense as each week goes by.
The offense, led by quarterback Brian Hoyer, looked smooth, generated a lot of positive plays and most importantly did not turn the ball over.
Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains took advantage of what the defense gave him, which resulted in his best play-calling of the season.
Now 1-3 on the season and third in the NFC North, the Bears can start fresh. As Smith would say there are four quarters to a season and the Bears are 1-0 to start the second.
The Bears will travel to Indianapolis next week to take on the jet-lagged Colts, who are coming off a loss in Wembley Stadium against the Jaguars, to seek their second victory of the season.