(670 The Score) Calling it a rebirth at this point is overselling it, but the symbolism of all that water is inescapable. The Bears ended their come-from-behind 19-10 upset of the 49ers on Sunday with a celebratory team dive into the Bermuda grass lagoon of Soldier Field, having emerged from the halftime locker room as something other than what we've recently known.
The smarter team won. The more disciplined and resilient team won.
As coaching debuts go in the NFL, Matt Eberflus couldn't have asked for much more -- a perfect advertisement for what he has been selling and what was so important to chairman George McCaskey in the Bears' search for Matt Nagy's replacement. In memorably difficult conditions, the Bears responded to a mostly dismal first half by checking all of their leader's acronymic boxes while displaying the promised level of conditioning, their metaphorical track shoes swapped out for swim fins.
The Niners committed 12 penalties for a costly 99 yards, while the Bears had just three for 24 yards. The Chicago defense kept swarming to and around the ball, with Jaylon Johnson's forced fumble paying proper homage to the uniform number he wears and Eddie Jackson making a critical interception that was his first since 2019.
Justin Fields finished the first half with a 2.8 passer rating and ended the game with one of 85.7, in large part due to what sure looked like level-headed and situationally aware play-calling by offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. The Bears' first touchdown was in part the result of actually practicing a scramble situation and having defined roles when such opportunities arise, and the other passing score was mostly by clever design to scheme open a receiver.
The Bears' untested offensive line took on one of the better fronts in the entire league and wasn't overwhelmed, helped by Fields' ability to escape pressure with his wicked reverse spin and keep his eyes downfield. The running game was never allowed to be forgotten even as it lacked big gains, keeping the calls on balance and on time enough to take advantage of extra yards afforded them by timely flags.
Eberflus projected steadiness and calm even amid the deluge of rain, and it's meaningful that there were no noticeable communication issues for the Bears on either side of the ball, the ship staying tight in the storm.
If they're going to build on this by stealing more such wins, the Bears can't afford to wait. Injuries are a brutal fact of NFL life, and it could get ugly quickly once attrition exposes the bottom half of this bargain-basement roster. The Bears have little margin for any error against more talented teams, a dynamic that defines most of their remaining matchups.
But the dream of some kind of surprise season gets a little bit of well-earned life at the very least after a second half like that, and the year has begun with what already promises to be an indelible image of that multi-player Slip-'N-Slide led by their young quarterback who finished it off appropriately back on his feet, with a flexing flourish.
None of us expected the Bears to show this kind of mettle or resolve, not for a regime's across-the-board debut against a real contender.
If this was indeed an emergence of something cleansed of some previous football sins, we'll remember how we saw it.
Dan Bernstein is the co-host of the Bernstein & Holmes Show on middays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on 670 The Score. You can follow him on Twitter @Dan_Bernstein.
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