"Forever the optimist, Brian Urlacher, with his team trailing 14-0 in the third quarter, walked over to injured teammate Jay Cutler and posed a simple question.

"I asked him if he would be able to play in the Super Bowl," Urlacher said. "I never at one point thought we were going to lose."

Prior to Sunday, Urlacher had planned to bring his family on the field for the postgame celebration. Then he and fellow Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs nearly willed their team straight to Dallas.

The defense kept the Bears in Sunday's NFC title game with Cutler sidelined most of the second half nursing a sprained knee. Urlacher and Briggs combined for 15 tackles and two interceptions, including Urlacher's third-quarter pick in the red zone that he could have returned for a touchdown had Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers not tripped him up.

"I was just glad I caught the ball," Urlacher said. "When I looked up to the Jumbotron and saw (Rodgers), I was like, 'crap.' "

Regardless, the play set the tone for a dominant defensive effort in the second half following a slow start to the game.

The Bears held Rodgers and the Packers to 1 of 8 on third down in the final 30 minutes and gave up only 104 total yards after halftime after yielding 252 in the first half. Green Bay gashed the Bears for 104 rushing yards in the first half but managed only 16 the rest of the way.

Briggs brushed off the notion that the defense turned it up a notch following Cutler's injury.

"We're in the NFC championship game," he said. "That's enough motivation to play well.""