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Titans put perfect mark on line against Bears

Nov 4, 2008 - 9:26 PM TENNESSEE (8-0) AT CHICAGO (5-3), 1:00 pm EST

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- That the Chicago Bears are leading their division at the midway point of the season could qualify as one of the year's biggest surprises - if not for their next opponent.

The Bears seek their third consecutive victory this week when they host the undefeated Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The league's lone unbeaten team, the Titans already have victories over a pair of Chicago's NFC North brethren, including last weekend's 19-16 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers.

Behind a suffocating defense that has yielded a league-low 103 points, Tennessee won its 11th straight regular-season contest on Rob Bironas' 41-yard field goal to turn back Green Bay.

"That's November football for you," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "That's a good football team we played today and we knew that all week. When you win eight games, you're going to need to win some on occasion like this."

The Titans and Bears have a lot of similarities, starting with their physical defenses.

Both squads also rely heavily on rookie running backs and have achieved their success behind a quarterback who was not expected to be the starter.

Veteran Kerry Collins replaced an ailing Vince Young in Week One and has presided over seven straight wins as a starter. While not putting up great numbers, Collins has managed the offense and stayed away from costly turnovers.

He is getting ample help from the backfield duo of rookie Chris Johnson and LenDale White.

Johnson rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 72 yards against Green Bay. White, who has 10 rushing scores, tacked on 77 yards on just eight carries.

Not much was expected from the Bears, who went 7-9 last season and lost their top two wideouts and No. 1 running back in the offseason.

Kyle Orton, who beat out Rex Grossman in training camp, has been a revelation at quarterback, but he suffered a high ankle sprain in last week's 27-23 win over the Detroit Lions and is expected to miss up to a month.

Grossman - the much-maligned starter who was benched after Week Three of last season - led the Bears to two second-half touchdowns en route to the come-from-behind win over Detroit.

Rookie Matt Forte ran for 126 yards - his first 100-yard game since Week One - as Chicago erased a 23-13 halftime deficit.