PRO FOOTBALL : Bears Take Away a Piece of First Place : NFC: Chicago scores twice on fumble returns and once on an interception in 30-17 victory over Green Bay.

Something special is happening here. It doesn’t look like Butkus or sound like Ditka, but it has Chicagoans slapping their mittens together again in delight and disbelief.

Their Chicago Bears are a first-place team again. If you don’t believe it, don’t ask the Green Bay Packers, because they can’t believe it either.

The Packers outgained the Bears by 256 yards, their offense outscored the Bear offense by 17-3 . . . and yet it was the Bears who danced off Soldier Field Sunday with mud-caked smiles and a 30-17 victory.

These descendants of the Monsters of the Midway have won four consecutive games with petty thieves. The Bears scored two touchdowns Sunday on interception returns and another touchdown on a fumble recovery.

They won this 146th renewal of the NFL’s oldest rivalry with an offense tied behind their backs. And they offered no apologies.

“This ain’t a beauty contest,” said Tony Wise, offensive line coach.

If looks counted, then Packer quarterback Brett Favre’s 402 passing yards and 36 completions--the most the Bears’ franchise has ever given up--would have resulted in more than disillusionment.

“The way we played today, you’d have thought our offense was a government giveaway program,” Packer tackle Ken Ruettgers said. “It’s hard to win when their defense outscores your offense.”

If looks counted, then Jim Harbaugh’s 10-of-20 passing, and Curtis Conway’s fumbled kick return, and Neal Anderson’s 1.7-yard rushing average would have doomed the Bears.

But that only gave the league’s fifth-ranked defense, which has 24 takeaways in the Bears’ seven victories, more inspiration.

“With our offense not scoring much, our defense has got to score every chance we get,” said linebacker Dante Jones, who had an interception, fumble recovery and a touchdown.

Of course, if looks counted, the Bears would not be tied with the Packers and Detroit Lions for first place in the NFC Central with 7-5 records and four games remaining.

“We’re like that ant,” linebacker Joe Cain said. “We’re going to knock over that rubber tree sooner or later.”

The dismantling of the Packers began Sunday with an first-quarter interception by Jones, who ran six yards, then lateraled to Jeremy Lincoln, who ran the remaining 80 yards for a touchdown.

The most amazing thing was not the play, but that under aggressive Coach Dave Wannstedt, the Bears actually practice that play.

“At least once a week,” Jones said. “When Jeremy was looking at me like, ‘Gimme the ball, gimme the ball,’ I knew what to do.”

With the Bears leading, 10-7, at the start of the second half, Jones was in the right place again, picking up Favre’s fumble and running it back 32 yards for a touchdown. He even hurdled Favre on the way.

“I felt like I was back in high school again,” Jones said.

Conway was possibly wishing he was in high school again late in the third quarter. He fumbled a kickoff, Keo Coleman recovered for the Packers, and Green Bay scored three plays later on a 22-yard pass from Favre to Mark Clayton.

That made the score 17-17 with 4:46 remaining in the quarter. But at least the Chicago offense was fresh--it had not been on the field in the second half yet.

Harbaugh took over, threw a pretty 29-yard pass over the middle to tight end Keith Jennings, and soon Kevin Butler’s 24-yard field goal gave the Bears the lead for good.

The game was not clinched, however, until Mark Carrier returned Favre’s third interception 34 yards for a touchdown with 1:41 remaining.

Favre threw the ball just as Steve McMichael, playing in his club-record 187th consecutive game, was about to smother him.

Yes, the Bears practice that play.

“You can’t look at all those numbers . . . this game comes down to making plays,” Wannstedt said. “Our guys make the plays.”

And what has since happened to the Bears is what happened to their receiver Terry Obee when he made a leaping 48-yard catch in the fourth quarter, stealing the ball out of the hands of Roland Mitchell, leading to a field goal.

“It was amazing,” Obee said. “I’m out there, and it’s happening . . . and I don’t know what happened.”