Colts Defense Cages Bears

The NFL’s No. 1 defense lived up to its ranking as the Indianapolis Colts blanketed the Chicago Bears 19-11 at Soldier Field.

The Indianapolis Colts defense enjoyed winning ugly on Sunday.

Despite not having All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard in the second half, the Colts and their top-ranked defense continually hounded the Chicago Bears in a 19-11 Sunday road victory at Soldier Field.

The Colts are 3-1 for the first time since 2013.

Philip Rivers threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Mo Alie-Cox in the opening quarter and Colts rookie kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made four field goals in an offensive effort that was inconsistent, but productive enough.

Leonard exited after the first half with a groin injury, but the Colts kept applying pressure to Bears quarterback Nick Foles, who was sacked only once by Justin Houston but struggled because he typically didn’t have enough time to throw.

The Colts were ahead 16-3 in the fourth quarter, but aware the Bears had rallied to two wins when trailing by 17 and 16 points late. Foles drove the offense into Colts territory, but a tipped pass ended up in the hands of Colts rookie safety Julian Blackmon for his first career interception. The third-round selection was playing in just his third NFL game.

The Colts won their third consecutive game and snapped a six-game road losing streak dating back to last season.

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Blankenship made field goals of 21, 30, 44, and 30 yards.

Alie-Cox, the Colts’ leader in receiving yards, caught a scoring pass for the second consecutive game.

The Bears (3-1) trailed by 16 points late before Foles hit Allen Robinson II on a 16-yard TD pass with 1:35 remaining. The two-point conversion run was successful to make it a one-score game, but the Colts’ Trey Burton recovered the onside kick.

Foles finished 26-of-42 passing for 249 yards with one TD and one INT. Rivers completed 16-of-29 passes for 190 yards with one TD.

The Colts are on the road again in Week 5 on Sunday at the Cleveland Browns (3-1). The Bears host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) on Thursday night.

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)