LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Some Chicago Bears credited a players-only defensive film session with improving communication between defenders in Sunday’s 21-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

It was especially impressive after consecutive losses of 51-23 to New England and 55-14 to Green Bay.

Of course it helped that Minnesota’s quarterback wasn’t named Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, but after being bombed by that prolific pair, the Bears needed a pat on the back for getting something right.

“We talked last week about everyone needing to do more,” defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said. “Players and coaches together just looking to take it up a notch.

“I think that was an effort on their part to take some extra time together as a unit. I thought that was a positive. I think it paid off for us.”

Defensive end Jared Allen thought it let Lance Briggs make clear to some players what they needed to be doing on specific plays.

“Lance is the quarterback of our defensive team,” Allen said. “So sometimes it’s nice to let him quarterback a meeting. Let him call the plays. Get into a feel of when they’re watching film.

“I think more of it, too, is so younger guys can see what I see, what we see on the film.”

A few backup Bears had Tucker singing their praises and talking about more playing time for them. Nickel back Demontre Hurst made a season-best seven tackles last week.

“I thought Hurst played a really nice game,” Tucker said. “He tackled well. He matched patterns in our zones and did a nice job there.”

Defensive end David Bass applied pressure and made a tackle in only his second appearance of the season, and Brock Vereen came on at safety in third-down passing situations.

“Brock, he’s got really good quickness and he’s fast, and he’s smart,” Tucker said. “He’s a willing tackler, and he showed that he can make tackles in space. He’s willing to come up in the box. He’s a guy that we’ve liked since from Day 1. When he’s gotten in games, he’s made some plays for us. He has earned a role, and we feel good about (him).”

A decision to let go of safety Ahmad Dixon and bring in kick returner/receiver Marc Mariani might have been made, in part, because of a hamstring injury suffered Sunday by return man Chris Williams. Mariani has returned 73 punts for a 11.2-yard average and 92 kicks for a 24.8-yard average, and in 2010 was a Pro Bowl return man.

“Chris was a little banged up so we wanted to make sure we were covered,” special teams coorindator Joe DeCamillis said. “It’s an excellent signing, the guy’s had some real production in the league and was outside catching balls, so hopefully we’ll see how it goes. We’ll just work through the week and see how it goes.”