"Bears defensive end Julius Peppers entered Thursday's game tied for 39th in the NFC with just two sacks.

That would seem a disappointing return on a player whom the Bears made one of the league's highest-paid defenders, signing him to a contract at the start of free agency that included $42 million in guarantees.

But the Bears didn't have any buyer's remorse before the game, and they certainly didn't after one of his most dominant performances.

''He's been doing it all year,'' linebacker Brian Urlacher said. ''People say he hasn't done it because of sacks. But who cares? He gets pressure on the quarterback, and he's been there every game.

''It probably wasn't his best game, but the sacks showed up today.''

And, as they say, they came in bunches. Peppers had three sacks, three tackles for loss and three pressures, and he tipped one pass that Charles Tillman intercepted.

Peppers echoed Urlacher's comments.

''Overall, I've been pleased with how I've been playing,'' Peppers said. ''I feel maybe people's opinion might change. If they look at the numbers, they might feel I'm playing well now or better than I was before, but that's not the story. The story is, I just happened to get a couple tonight. But I played tonight the way I have been playing all year.''

Coach Lovie Smith acknowledged that the burst of sacks might ''validate'' Peppers' play, and general manager Jerry Angelo provided his own strong comment before the game.

''I wouldn't take another defensive player in the league outside of him,'' Angelo said. ''He's a great player. He has impacted our defense. He's a guy you have to account for. He plays all three downs. Don't let the sack numbers be the end result of how you measure this guy.''"