LAKE FOREST, Ill. – This time, Lovie Smith couldn’t hold back. Not after watching that first half and not with the season possibly slipping away.

So the usually reserved coach lit into his team at halftime and watched the Bears pull out a 27-20 victory at Green Bay on Sunday.

“Coach Smith wasn’t happy at the half and he got our attention,” cornerback Danieal Manning said. “I give him the credit for us turning it around in the second half.”

The Bears improved to 4-0 at Lambeau Field under Smith, and this might have been their most important victory. Instead of falling to 1-4, the Bears are 2-3 with back-to-back games against teams with losing records approaching, at home against Minnesota followed by a trip to Philadelphia.

Suddenly, there’s optimism.

“Yeah, I think it is the start of good things for this team,” said linebacker Brian Urlacher, who had a momentum-changing interception in the third quarter.

One day after the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs, the Bears appeared headed toward elimination, themselves. They trailed 17-7 at halftime and it might have been worse had Charles Tillman not stripped James Jones twice. The first half was a collage of missed tackles and blown assignments.

For one half, the Bears morphed into the team they envisioned, or at least a reasonable imitation. Perhaps they woke up from that September nightmare.

“It’s amazing how much happier this team is when we’re winning,” Manning said. “I don’t think anyone wants to relive the last month.”

Sure, the running game stalled again. Cedric Benson had only 64 yards on 27 attempts, but the Bears compensated. Particularly the tight ends.

Olsen, who missed the first two games with a sprained knee, had four catches for 57 yards. Clark had three for 62. Smith called it “a special game for the tight ends.”

Griese completed 15 of 25 passes for 214 yards with two touchdowns and one interception; a big improvement over the previous week, when he threw 52 passes and got picked off three times.

The defense got a boost with Tillman, safety Adam Archuleta and linebacker Lance Briggs returning after injuries, and all three contributed. Briggs had 16 tackles, while Archuleta recovered a fumble.