National Football League

Smith insists Bears in good spot

Published Nov. 8, 2010 11:33 p.m. ET

foxsports

Even their coach has to do a double-take.

The Chicago Bears are 5-3 and only a half-game behind Green Bay for the NFC North lead midway through the season despite an ugly stretch. It's not hard to see why coach Lovie Smith said it ''seems like we're 2-6 or something like that.''

Even when they win, they can't exactly breathe easily. Still, he insists they're in a good spot.

The Bears came out of a bye and held off winless Buffalo 22-19 on Sunday behind an efficient Jay Cutler, a more balanced offense and enough timely plays by their defense. It wasn't the breeze some were seeking, but considering they had dropped three of four, the Bears will take it.

''We're a good football team, and I think at times we'll prove that more and more. I like our position,'' Smith said. ''In November, that's when that playoff run begins and we're in pretty good shape. We're not sitting in first place right now, but to me (that's) because we've played one less game than the team that's up top right now. They don't play this week. That's why this game is so big for us. We want to matter, and right now, I think you can say the Bears really matter.''

The next game is against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings, a team with more than it's share of drama. Smith says he's not paying attention to that.

There's plenty in Chicago to keep him occupied, between the beating Cutler had been taking, the struggles on the offensive line and the perceived stubbornness of offensive coordinator Mike Martz. The Bears put all that aside but barely put away the Bills.

Had Tim Jennings not come up with that juggling interception in the fourth quarter, the outcome might have been different. Instead, he was fortunate and so were the Bears.

They were trailing by five when Jennings secured an underthrown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick after getting beaten by Steve Johnson. Six plays later, Cutler connected with Earl Bennett from the 2 for the go-ahead touchdown and Chicago hung on.

As if what had happened to that point wasn't enough, the Bears got a scare near the end when Julius Peppers got the wind knocked out of him trying to make a diving tackle on Fitzpatrick and left the game. He stayed down awhile, but Smith said he's fine.

''Especially when you go back and watch the video, it looked a lot worse than it ended up being,'' Smith said. ''It's going to take an awful to keep him out, to knock him down, but he's fine, good to go.''

The same goes for Bennett after he was in a car accident in Chicago early Monday morning.

All those issues aside, there were some positive signs for the Bears.

Finally, they came through on third downs, converting 7 of 12 after going 15 of 84 in their first seven games.

Cutler looked sharper, completing 17 of 30 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He lost a fumble but did not throw an interception after getting picked off four times two weeks earlier against Washington.

He was sacked just once after going down 19 times in his previous three games. There was better protection from the line, and Cutler did a better job picking up the blitz.

He got rid of the ball quicker at times, used his mobility and kept the defense off balance whether he ran with it or bought time to find receivers.

''Jay did a good job utilizing his feet and converting some big plays for us on the ground,'' tight end Greg Olsen said. ''That element to the offense is another big advantage we have.''

It wasn't just that Cutler was moving around. The Bears weren't treating the handoff as a foreign concept, either.

They ran 31 times for 105 yards, and although the average wasn't good, the Bills at least had to be ready for it. Cutler did the most damage on the ground, going for 39 yards on five attempts, but Matt Forte (14 attempts, 49 yards) and Chester Taylor (10 for 13 yards) were at least involved.

''What were we 50-50 in run-pass? When I say balance on the offensive side, just having a commitment to both, giving what the defense gives you,'' Smith said. ''You have to be productive in both areas.''