East Rutherford, N.J. - Slow down Devin Hester. Stop Greg Olsen. Disrupt Jay Cutler.

These are the Monsters of the Midway the New York Giants have to deal with Sunday night?

Well, the Chicago Bears still have some formidable defenders, led by holdover star linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, and newcomer Julius Peppers threatening blockers and passers from his end position.

Yet these Bears also are making lots of plays on offense, especially through the air, and on special teams - major reasons they are the NFC's only 3-0 team.

"We felt good coming into the year that we had a lot of opportunities and a lot of guys who played pretty well as a team," said Olsen, the tight end who has flourished under new offensive coordinator Mike Martz - even though Martz often has ignored that position in the past. "Coming out and starting 3-0 against some of the teams we've played, in those environments, I think you can take a lot of positives from it.

" But as we've all said, there's 13 more weeks. It can go a lot of different directions, and we just have to make sure that what we've done up to this point, we continue to do - and more. Now, we're not going to really sneak up on any people. Everybody wants to be that first team to beat the undefeated, so we have to come out and be willing to take everyone's best shot. I think Sunday, that's pretty much going to be the way it is."

Certainly the Giants (1-2) would like to think that way. After dropping their last two games, including handing away last Sunday's matchup with Tennessee by being undisciplined (11 penalties, five of them personal fouls), sloppy with the ball (three turnovers, two inside the Titans 6) and a bit dispassionate, they need a wake-up call.

"When you are facing adversity and things are going like that, you like to face a challenge," linebacker and special teams captain Chase Blackburn said. "It can help you get going."

The Bears have gotten plenty of help in going to the top of the NFC North. Calvin Johnson negated a likely winning touchdown catch for Detroit in the opener by not completing the reception as the rules require. Green Bay set a team mark with 18 penalties and set up Robbie Gould's winning field goal with a fumble.

"Sometimes it happens that way, with penalties and the ball doesn't bounce your way," Bears linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa said. "Last week, we had the ball bounce our way. Sometimes that stuff happens, but they're still a good team."

While nobody should be comparing these Bears to the 1985 champions, or even the 2006 squad that lost to Indianapolis in the Super Bowl, there are plenty of signs Chicago will contend in the NFC.

Martz has reined in Cutler enough to cut down on the picks - Cutler threw a league-high 26 a year ago but has only two so far - and gotten the passing attack to surpass the rush, a normal development with Martz in charge of the offense, but something unusual for Chicago.

"Mike is a quarterback-friendly offensive coordinator," said Cutler, who ranks second in the NFC in passer rating (109.7), far ahead of Giants QB Eli Manning (81.7). "He's going to give quarterbacks answers for each play. There is no gray area, and whenever you see a certain coverage, you know where the ball is supposed to go."

The Giants are struggling defensively against the run, but Chicago ranks 29th on the ground. Martz never has been confused with Woody Hayes when it comes to ordering up running plays, either.

So don't look for one of those titanic struggles in the trenches for the prime-time game at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

"A big win against a team like this on Sunday night football can really turn our season and head it in the right direction," Giants DE Justin Tuck said. "It's definitely an important game."