SEATTLE -- The dominoes behind linebacker Brian Urlacher kept falling. Yet Nick Roach and the Chicago Bears' defense stood tall when needed.
The Bears finished Sunday's 25-19 victory over the Seattle Seahawks with their third middle linebacker. Hunter Hillenmeyer was hurt two weeks after the Bears lost Urlacher, their six-time Pro Bowl selection and defensive leader, to a season-ending wrist injury.
Hillenmeyer, a seventh-year NFL veteran, left in the third quarter with what Bears coach Lovie Smith called a rib injury. That left Roach, a third-year veteran who replaced injured outside linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa earlier this month, to move inside to the middle spot in Chicago's defense.
Roach earned rave reviews from teammates and coaches after he chased Seahawks quarterback Seneca Wallace across the end zone during the third quarter and forced a wild, off-balance throw that Bears linebacker Lance Briggs intercepted to set up a field goal.
Roach also raced into the flat to hound running back Julius Jones and force Wallace to throw too high on Seattle's final play, a failed fourth-and-2 from Chicago's 29-yard line with 30 seconds left in the game.
"It's tough when you go to your third linebacker, but Nate Roach stepped in and did a super job of getting the calls, getting us in the right spot," Smith said.
Roach just shrugged when asked about the void he stepped into with Sunday's game at stake, saying it wasn't much different than replacing Tinoisamoa earlier in the season.
"I mean, I feel comfortable," Roach said. "I think the guys, they trust me. They trust anybody who can show that they are calm under that kind of pressure."
Roach lamented not being able to drag down the elusive Wallace for a safety, then realized the interception and subsequent field goal from Robbie Gould was better.
"Oh, man, I wish I would have gotten him down -- but it turned out being better," Roach said. "We turned out getting three points instead of two."
Starting running back Matt Forte was bent back awkwardly at the end of an 11-yard run on the Bears' winning drive. He spent the last few plays running in place on the sideline, trying to get loose, as Adrian Peterson replaced him.
Forte, who had 66 yards on 21 carries and made a team-high six receptions, limped in the locker room following an extended, postgame treatment session. He had a wrap on his left leg.
Smith initially said the Bears had "a couple of injuries," but then only mentioned Hillenmeyer's.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
