Bears, Lions await word from NFL after on-field brouhaha

More aggressive, physical defensive play helped the Chicago Bears put together their four-game winning streak. They're hoping aggressive play doesn't hurt them before they even kick off next weekend.

A brawl during Sunday's 37-13 victory over the Detroit Lions had the Bears nervously waiting for possible fines or even suspensions that could impact who plays against a San Diego Chargers team that has lost four in a row.

"There were a lot of things that happened that I could talk about during the course of the game, but you let the officials kind of make their call and go from there," Bears coach Lovie Smith said Monday. "But I can't say you can say we were trying to do anything cheap during the course of a game."

The brawl erupted after Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw one of his four interceptions, this one to cornerback Tim Jennings. While D.J. Moore blocked Stafford, the Lions quarterback appeared to grab the defensive back's facemask and flung him to the ground. Moore responded by taking a run and throwing a block hard into Stafford in front of the Lions' bench. Players from both teams came onto the field, and Moore was ejected.

"First off, you shouldn't retaliate on something that happens, and officials are supposed to be looking at the instigator in situations like that," Smith said. "D.J. was not. Stafford grabbed him by his helmet. You can't do that, either. In those situations, I could understand the officials throwing out one guy -- D.J. -- but it seemed like both guys should have been thrown out in that situation."

NFL officials have a lot to sort out, since numerous Bears players came across the field and some Lions were involved, too.

"The NFL, with video, modern video, you have a chance to look at everything of what happened and that's what the league is doing, I assume early this morning, and now and I'm anxious to see exactly what they rule based on what everyone did," Smith said.

Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson expects some of his teammates to receive a special delivery, courtesy of the league.

"Probably, there's going to be some guys getting fined," Burleson said. "But you go out there and throw some blows, you've got to expect that FedEx letter in your locker."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.