PRO FOOTBALL : Bears Sack the Pack, Win, 24-6 : Chicago Defense Keys the Victory; Green Bay Now 0-4

Sack time for Ron Rivera and the rest of the Chicago Bears defense meant a restless Sunday afternoon for the Green Bay Packers.

The Bears sacked Green Bay quarterback Randy Wright 5 times and harassed him all day, while linebacker Rivera made a key interception as Chicago sent the winless Packers to their fourth straight loss, 24-6.

“The key was our pressure,” said Rivera, whose second-quarter interception helped Chicago score 17 points in the final 5 minutes of the first half. “I just put myself in the right position to make the big plays. We needed a big play since they were moving the ball well.

“I just followed the ball and Mike Richardson did a great job to tip the ball.”

Rivera’s interception set up Neal Anderson’s second touchdown run of the quarter, a 3-yarder, and gave the Bears a 14-6 lead. Anderson earlier sprinted 45 yards for the Bears’ first score.

Chicago bounced back from a 31-7 loss to Minnesota last week to improve to 3-1.

“We just played better than last week,” Bear Coach Mike Ditka said. “We did what we had to. I don’t want to analyze it.”

Rivera picked off Wright’s pass on the first play from scrimmage following Anderson’s first touchdown. Richardson tipped the pass and Rivera picked it off at the Green Bay 26, setting up Anderson’s second score.

The Packers were stopped on their next series when Wright was sacked for the third time in the half. After a punt, the Bears got a 35-yard field goal from Kevin Butler with 10 seconds in the second quarter to take a 17-6 lead.

“We hadn’t seen their five-man line before,” Wright said. “You don’t get that many chances when you play a team like the Bears, so you have to cut out the dropped passes and the turnovers.”

Added Packer Coach Lindy Infante: “We certainly had some problems with their defense. We just got beat individually on some occasions. They’ve got excellent pass rushers and that’s why they’re the No. 1 defensive team in the NFL.”

The Packers drove to the Chicago 9-yard line in the fourth quarter after Wright hit Sterling Sharpe with passes of 51 and 17 yards. But Shaun Gayle intercepted in the end zone after the ball bounced off Green Bay’s Keith Woodside.

The Bears’ final touchdown came on Thomas Sanders’ 5-yard run with 2:44 left, 6 plays after Greg Clark recovered a punt that was fumbled by Green Bay’s Walter Stanley on the Packers’ 39.

The Bears turned the ball over on their first three series but Green Bay could manage only 6 points. Chicago, in fact, had only 8 plays in the first quarter plays.

McMahon was intercepted twice and also fumbled a snap, but the Packers’ only points came on Brent Fullwood’s 2-yard run with 3:37 to go in the first quarter. Max Zendejas missed the extra point.

Anderson led the Bears with 105 yards rushing in 20 carries. McMahon was 10 of 18 for 114 yards passing. Wright completed 19 of 41 passes for 242 yards, including 7 to Sharpe for 137 yards.

The Bears had 358 total yards to only 233 for the Packers, and Green Bay managed only 34 yards net rushing.

The victory was the Bears’ seventh straight in the NFL’s oldest rivalry. Sunday’s meeting was the 136th meeting between the two teams.