Monday night's playoff-dream-saving victory over the Packers served as Exhibit A in the argument for prioritizing "the third phase," which is the No. 1 reason the 9-6 Bears still have postseason hopes as they head to Houston for a must-win noon game against the 7-8 Texans.

The Bears also need help from other teams to make the playoffs, the kind they've gotten from their own special teams all season.

"We have gotten a lot of plays from our special teams, but we're set up that way," Smith said. "We practice that way. We rely on our special teams. The third phase wins football games for you. It's as simple as that. We have good players there. We have a good scheme. But still, a lot of teams say that. It's still good to be able to get that type of production from it."

A lot of teams do pay lip service to special teams, but against the Packers it was evident the Bears and special-teams coordinator Dave Toub do much more than talk the talk when it comes to that often-overlooked phase of the game. The Bears were dominated on both sides of the ball for most of the game, getting out-gained 325-210, getting out-converted on third downs 47-25 percent, losing the time of possession battle, 35:42-27:50 and getting out-sacked 3-0.

But big plays by special teams more than overcame the Bears' shortcomings on offense and defense.

For the second straight game, Robbie Gould converted a field goal in overtime for the victory, the first time that's occurred since David Akers did it for the Eagles more than eight years ago.

Devin Hester's 24-yard punt return, just one yard short of his season best, positioned the offense for the game-tying TD drive late in the fourth quarter. The second blocked field goal of defensive end Alex Brown's seven-year NFL career, on a 38-yard attempt, preserved the 17-17 tie with 18 seconds remaining when defeat appeared imminent.

"Alex Brown came through like he's come through many times in the five years I've been here," Smith said. "That's what the team needed."

Brad Maynard's net punting average of 41.3 yards gave the Bears a 13.5-yard advantage over the Packers, and Maynard dropped two of his six attempts inside the 20, tying his personal best of 36 in one season. He should have had another downed at the 1-yard line, but Kevin Jones unwittingly carried the ball into the end zone thinking it was a muff. The Bears and Maynard allowed just seven return yards on six punts.

The Bears' first scoring "drive," which ended on a 31-yard Gould field goal, covered 16 yards in five plays. But that's all the offense had to do after Danieal Manning's 70-yard kickoff return, on which he carried two and sometimes three Packers defenders the final 25 yards.

Since taking over from Hester as the Bears' kickoff returner, the freakishly strong, 5-foot-11, 200-pound Manning has displayed a more powerful running style than most return specialists. He also leads the NFL with a 29.4-yard average.

"I joked with my family and especially my little boy about me being the Incredible Hulk," Manning said. "I felt like that on that (return), but it was great blocking, too. Those guys did a great job all night. It's really an incredible feeling to be out there running the ball like that."

SERIES HISTORY: 2nd regular-season meeting. Texans lead, 1-0, with a 24-5 victory at Soldier Field on Dec. 19, 2004. That game was one of the coldest in Soldier Field history, with a game-time temperature of 12 degrees and a wind chill of minus-8.