Chicago Bears: The 5 Best Moments of the Past Decade
By Erik Lambert
#4: The Lovie Smith defense crafts masterpiece in Tennessee (2012)
Throughout his mostly successful tenure as Bears head coach, Lovie Smith created a unique legacy on defense. While most defenses were simply focused on stopping the opposing offense and getting off the field, Smith always preached a different approach. He wanted turnovers. He wanted the defense to take the ball away and either give the offense good field position or better yet just score themselves.
After years of success with this formula, the old guard Smith had coached up put together one final act in Tennesse during the 2012 and boy was it something to watch. The Titans weren’t ready for the Bears’ unbelievable proficiency at forcing turnovers. They fumbled five times, four of which were forced by Charles Tillman, and Matt Hasselbeck threw a pick six to Brian Urlacher.
FIve turnovers in total helped the Bears spark a 51-20 rout in Tennessee. It remains the last endearing image of that Smith defense before he was fired a few months later.