ARLINGTON, Texas -- How dare we think offense would be the calling card of this team, that the defense would be along just for the ride? How dare we think Urlacher and Briggs and Peppers and Peanut Tillman were too old and not imposing enough anymore and incapable of carrying the load? How silly was it to presume the Chicago Bears could seriously contend this season only by winning shootouts?

Lance Briggs doesn't like the perception that the Bears' defense is old, and his 74-yard touchdown return proved he still has the wheels. Ron Jenkins/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Getty Images

OK, the Dallas Cowboys aren't the Patriots or Texans when it comes to big-strike football. The Cowboys, who have been anemic offensively in each of the last three weeks, could really be in serious trouble. Tony Romo, bless his heart, has no idea how lucky he is after a mistake-filled loss like this that Kyle Orton is his backup and not Tim Tebow. Nonetheless, a big reason the Dallas offense was so dysfunctional Monday night in a 34-18 loss is that the Bears' defense was ruthlessly effective.

Let's take inventory: five interceptions off Romo, two for touchdowns. The Bears, when the defense scores a touchdown, is 17-2 since 2005. Don't get me wrong; Jay Cutler played his best game of the season by far, completing 18 of 24 passes for 275 yards, and made the Cowboys' defense look positively amateurish with those uncontested touchdown throws to Devin Hester and Brandon Marshall. And having Matt Forte in the lineup, even if he carries it only 13 times for 52 yards, sets up everything the Bears do when they have the ball ... but the defense, still, is what makes this team go.

The defense, if you take away garbage time in the wins over Indy and Dallas, has been pushed around for essentially one drive per game in the three victories and on two drives up in the loss at Green Bay. "Hey, we've got guys who can still play on this side of the ball, too," Julius Peppers said, laughing through mock annoyance.

When asked how he felt coming into the season, hearing his unit is "too old," Peppers gave an answer that might surprise some. "In reality," he said, "it's kind of the truth. But there's something to be said for both experience and the wisdom that comes with age. We're going to need the offense to be what it has the potential to be as this season progresses ... but I thought as long as we had No. 54 (Urlacher), No. 55 (Briggs), myself, Peanut ... I thought we'd have one of the top defenses in the league."