ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Brandon Marshall giggled.

The Bears wide receiver, through a teleconferenced-in phone line, couldn’t seem to help himself. He was asked how much better his offensive line is this season versus last season.

And he laughed.

“There is no comparison,” Marshall said. “I think that’s a testament to coach (Aaron) Kromer. They don’t stop working. Once they cross that line, there’s no down time for them.

“They are relentlessly walking through stuff, schemes, twists and what we’re trying to accomplish that week. So our offense, they are coming together, jelling well and the two rookies that we have, it’s just amazing to see their growth, day-in, day-out.”

So far, the Bears offensive line has protected their quarterbacks well, allowing only 12 sacks this season, tied for third in the NFL with San Diego just behind Detroit (10) and Denver (11).

One of the rookies Marshall mentioned was drafted specifically for this assignment, for this particular game. The Bears selected Kyle Long in part to try and contain Detroit defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

The first time around didn’t go so great for Long. Suh had four tackles, two sacks, two quarterback hits and a forced fumble leading to a Nick Fairley touchdown. According to Pro Football Focus, Long had his worst graded game against Detroit in Week 4 with negative numbers, overall, in pass blocking and in run blocking.

Suh, meanwhile, had his best game of the season according to Pro Football Focus, grading out positively in every facet. Suh said he likes going against Long -- much like he always wants to face the best possible offensive lineman every week.

“I do. That’s their prodigy, their golden boy,” Suh said. “That’s the best that they have, that’s who I want to go against.”