LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears were down to their third middle linebacker in the second half of Sunday’s 25-19 victory over the Seahawks, but it certainly wasn’t evident on the field.

Nick Roach performed more like a regular starter than a temporary replacement after moving from the strongside position into the middle when Hunter Hillenmeyer exited with a rib injury.

Nick Roach filled in admirably at middle linebacker in Sunday's win in Seattle.

Roach pressured Seneca Wallace into making an errant throw from his end zone that was intercepted by a diving Lance Briggs, and later helped preserve the win by not allowing Julius Jones to make a short reception on fourth-and-two with :26 left in the game.

“Nick Roach going in for Hunter Hillenmeyer did a great job,” coach Lovie Smith said Monday. “We’ve had to shuffle our linebacker corps around a little bit, but the guys are making the plays.”

The Bears lost two of their three starting linebackers in a Week 1 defeat to the Packers. Brian Urlacher sustained a season-ending wrist injury and Pisa Tinoisamoa suffered a sprained knee that has kept him out of the last two games.

Roach replaced Tinoisamoa as the starting strongside linebacker but also had been getting reps as the backup in the middle since Urlacher went down. That preparation paid off Sunday when Hillenmeyer was injured.

“I feel good about it,” Roach said. “It’s definitely fun, kind of [being] in the middle of everything. It’s kind of like watching a big TV screen; you get to see all the action and be around it.”

Roach played a starring role when Wallace dropped back into his end zone midway through the third quarter Sunday, chasing the quarterback toward the right sideline. Wallace flipped a weak sidearm toss that Briggs picked off at the Seattle 14, setting up a Robbie Gould field goal that gave the Bears a 17-13 lead.

“Oh man, I wish I would have got him down [for a safety],” Roach said. “But it turned out better I guess because we got three points instead of two.”

Smith said Monday that Hillenmeyer’s rib injury isn’t as severe as the one that has kept tight end Desmond Clark out of the past two games. Hillenmeyer’s status for Sunday’s contest against the Lions is not known, but Roach will be ready to start in the middle if called upon.

“Hunter is obviously a good player,” Roach said. “He’s been doing a great job in the middle since Brian’s been out for a short while. But we’re definitely prepared if we have to be to go forward [without him].”

While the middle linebacker is entrusted with relaying all the defensive calls to his teammates, Roach said that playing with several veterans makes that task much easier.

“It’s not that hard because we have guys who know before I even make the call kind of what’s going to come, so that helps,” he said. “That takes a lot of pressure off the ‘Mike’ having to do everything himself because we have guys anticipating the calls. So it works out. I’m glad we have a good group that way.”