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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- A game that once looked like a chance for revenge against his former team for Chicago Bears coach John Fox has taken on quite a different tone. The revenge factor slides into the background as the Bears try to climb back to .500 and continue to fight their way into contention in the NFC against backup quarterback Brock Osweiler with Denver starter Peyton Manning because of an injury.
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"I think it (a win) would say resilience, just doing a great job of pushing back through adversity," tackle Kyle Long said. "Obviously we didn't start the way we wanted to. We knew it was going to be an uphill battle.
"But the NFL season is a long season."
To get to .500, the Bears have to stop a 6-foot-7 backup quarterback who was athletic enough to play college basketball.
"There's a book on every player in this league," Fox said. "Obviously, his book's not real thick because there hasn't been a lot of playing time. How he fits in the offense, what they'll try to do with him, I think we have a pretty good understanding of."
Three years ago, the Bears faced a similar situation when they went into San Francisco against another athletic quarterback in his first start and Colin Kaepernick shredded them to the tune of 32-7.
Then again, this was a different era, two coaches ago, and no starters remain on defense from that game.
"I remember I coached against (Tom) Brady in his first start, and you know how that turned out," Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said, referring to a 44-13 thumping the Indianapolis Colts received while he was their defensive coordinator in 2001.
Fangio was on the 49ers' side when the Bears treated Kaepernick like Steve Young reborn.
"He's got a big arm, he's athletic, he'll scramble much more than Peyton would," Fangio said about Osweiler. "He can run some of the boots more than Peyton would and (coach) Gary (Kubiak) likes those boots.
"You'll see an athletic guy with a big arm, probably pretty similar to Joe Flacco if you're trying to draw a comparison."
The Bears anticipate more emphasis on the run by a Denver team mired in 29th in the league at rushing the ball while Manning was their quarterback.
"That doesn't change our mentality," linebacker Lamarr Houston said of the quarterback change. "It just changes the type of plays we'll see and the offense we'll see because it's a different quarterback.
"I think they'll be different. There won't be as much shotgun and passing as there used to be with Peyton Manning. It's probably going to be a little bit more run just to get him comfortable and to establish himself in the game."
The height difference could be an issue.
"He's about 6-7," linebacker Sam Acho said. "I played with a guy in Arizona who was 6-8. So I'm used to looking up to guys. I think the release point might change a little bit, just the angle of release, so we'll have to do an even better job of getting our hands up. But it might be hard with a guy that tall to try to bat down passes.
"So the biggest thing is just getting pressure on him early. We know he's mobile."
The early pressure is what the defense feels is important to keep Ostweiler from settling into a groove.
"When you get your first start, you're trying to go out there and prove something, so we want to make sure he's not proving anything against us," Acho said.
Facing a backup quarterback is quite a change from what the Bears defense has had to confront on a weekly basis. They have faced a succession of top quarterbacks, including Aaron Rodgers, Carson Palmer, Russell Wilson and Philip Rivers.
"It helps a little bit as far as having coaches that know Osweiler," Acho said. "But more importantly, we just look at the film from last week and just look at what he did when he was out there in regular-season action.
"He ran a similar offense to what Peyton did."
Stopping Denver would be one more affirmation for a defense that has beaten the No. 1-rated passing attack (San Diego) and one of the hottest runners (Todd Gurley) in successive weeks.
"We've been growing every week," Acho said. "Even early in the season as a defense we were still putting some good film on tape.
"What we weren't doing was finishing. We weren't finishing games and I think we've learned a little bit more and matured a little bit and learned how to finish a little bit better as a unit."
SERIES HISTORY: 15th regular-season meeting. The series is tied, 7-7. Denver won the last game in 2011 against a Broncos team coached by current Bears coach John Fox. Denver's last win in Chicago came in 1993.
GAME PLAN: The obvious Bears point of attack defensively has to be quarterback Brock Osweiler. In his first NFL start, they need to give him false looks as often as possible, pressure from unexpected spots and crowd the line of scrimmage on early downs in order to force Denver into undesirable passing situations.
The Bears' offensive approach needs to complement the defense. They need to be in attack mode even facing the league's top-rated pass defense. They can't be afraid to go down the field even against a strong pass rush, and need to get it outside in short passes and screens to wide receivers early. The running game can come off of the pass. Denver's worst games defensively have come against teams that ran the ball. But in this case the run will need to be blended in with the pass. The play-action pass and runs on downs when the defense expects a pass will be also need to be involved in the approach. A Chicago lead early would put an inexperienced quarterback under even more pressure.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
--Bears SS Adrian Amos, who is without an interception this year, vs. Broncos TE Vernon Davis, who has two catches in two games for Denver since being traded by San Francisco.
Amos is perceived as a run-stopper, but part of the reason he hasn't been burned to any great extent as a rookie is he has excellent coverage skills as he was a cornerback in college. The Broncos can be expected to try to give QB Brock Osweiler some easy targets in the passing game and who better than every quarterback's security blanket, the tight end? Without Peyton Manning changing things up every two seconds at the line, and with an inexperienced quarterback, it could be easier for Davis to find a role in the offense that he obviously doesn't know well yet. This could be Amos' biggest challenge yet.
--Bears NT Eddie Goldman, who has been in on 14 tackles and has 1.5 sacks, vs. Broncos C Matt Paradis, who has started every game in his second season after not playing as a rookie.
Goldman has a good size advantage at 330 pounds over Paradis, who comes in around 300. The Broncos try to move their linemen around a lot and use quasi-illegal cut block-style attempts to create running room. They've been largely unsuccessful as run blockers this season and will have to make a concerted effort to move it on the ground with Osweiler at quarterback. Goldman hasn't been a big-play type and at times has gotten lost in the two-gap system. However, he has shown up better in the last three games.
--Bears TE Martellus Bennett, who has one touchdown catch the last five games, vs. Broncos SS T.J. Ward, who was involved in a scuffle last week and was fined earlier in the year.
Bennett's role has been reduced somewhat with Zach Miller becoming a force as a receiver, but he still is a physical presence in the running game. He'll no doubt wind up blocking on Ward at some point. Bennett is always one of the more physical Bears and has one of the shortest fuses -- after last week's game he called the Rams the "little brother" to Seattle and used an expletive in referring to Rams defensive end Eugene Sims. This matchup could produce something beyond the whistle considering these players' pasts.
