Bears stay atop of it, beat Green Bay, 20-17

With a little help from some fans in the South end zone, Devin Hester made a Soldier Field leap early in the fourth quarter.

You can understand his excitement. It had been 30 games since his last punt return for a score, a drought that had led some to suggest a change the Bears will never make — removing him from his duties as a wide receiver. Now, the Bears have much more to celebrate.

Hester’s 62-yard touchdown on a return of a Tom Masthay punt put the Bears ahead for the first time Monday night in their NFC North showdown with the Green Bay Packers. Two Robbie Gould field goals, the last from 19 yards with four seconds remaining, lifted them to a 20-17 win that leaves them atop the division with their first 3-0 start since 2006. Chicago is the only unbeaten team in the NFC and one of only three in the NFL.

It was a battle of young guns between Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers, but ultimately the Bears prevailed because they made plays in all phases. Hester’s return wasn’t the only big play on special teams. Julius Peppers blocked a 37-yard field goal try by the Packers’ Mason Crosby in the third quarter. Gould’s winning kick — which atoned for a 49-yard miss in the first quarter — came after Brian Urlacher stripped Packers’ wide receiver James Jones at midfield with 2:18 to play, a fumble that cornerback Tim Jennings recovered.

The punt return was a big turning point as once again Coach Lovie Smith chose to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the opponent’s one-yard line and again the Bears were turned back. The defense held, as Smith figured it would, and when Masthay outkicked his coverage with a 57-yard punt, the big return was set up.

“I’m just trying to prove to all the doubters that our special teams unit is still capable of taking punts to the house,” Hester said. “We’re on top [of the NFC] right now. Our main goal is to” stay there.

The Bears wouldn’t have been in the game without a gritty effort from Cutler, who threw for 221 yards and one touchdown and willed a unit that could not run the ball. He made a daring 21-yard pass to tight end Greg Olsen on second-and-20 to help set up the winning kick. Then the sloppy Packers were called for pass interference involving rookie safety Morgan Burnett at the nine-yard line, erasing an interception. The Bears benefitted from undisciplined play all game as the Packers were penalized 18 times for 152 yards.

It will be an interesting week for Chicago, as three straight wins will generate hype.

“It’s not huge if we don’t keep winning,” center Olin Kreutz said. “All we’re trying to do is win games. You don’t care how you do it.”

bbiggs@tribune.com