(670 The Score) Once every calendar year or so, the Bears are able to win a game, and sometimes they even get to dominate one for a half and pull away late.
What eventually got them there was an uncomfortably bumpy ride to the long-sought end of their 14-loss sojourn in the dark, thorny football wilderness, but they've indeed emerged, if still a bit bedraggled and hurting after a 40-20 win against the Commanders on Thursday night.
It'd be cloying and facile hackwork to frame this performance at all in the context of Bears legend Dick Butkus, whose death at 80 was announced Thursday afternoon. So we won't. He deserves more and better than having anything to do with a forgettable game played by this team. So let's just get that out of the way.
As we were saying.
This dead-cat bounce needed much of the Bears' 27-3 halftime lead, to be sure, and the shakiness of it resonates with the result.
But it lowers the heat on Matt Eberflus and the Bears for some time, perhaps enough to learn wrong lessons, draw wrong conclusions and make unreasonably and newly rosy projections, if history is a guide. These wins happen in so many terrible seasons.
Even amid the bigger picture, however, there are nice developments to recognize.
DJ Moore had perhaps the best receiving game in franchise history, with eight catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns while displaying every possible skill that's so rare in that uniform — cutting crisp and thoughtful routes, tracking the ball, catching it, running after the catch, blocking and anything and everything else. Perhaps more significantly, Justin Fields posted a close-to-perfect 125.3 passer rating, now stringing together two excellent starts. Those of us rooting for him to succeed now see him at least forcing a difficult decision with high draft picks looming, and that's just fun. No matter what else, he's balling.
The defense made plays we were told they were supposed to make, causing turnovers with noticeable individual efforts like those of Greg Stroman's interception and rookie Terrell Smith both forcing and recovering a fumble. Andrew Billings held strong at the nose, and the decisions by Eberflus to continue pressuring Commanders quarterback Sam Howell with blitzes from all angles proved to work.
What's more, the Bears actually seemed as if they were listening and learning a little bit — they ran not one, but three (!) rugby-maul tush-push sneaks that are simply best practice until the inevitable rule change instead of running the stupid direct snap to the tight end or a shotgun set. And they took the chip-shot points early. They read our notes.
Khalil Herbert was killing on those draw plays, too, before he got hurt, leaving the Bears down to just a fullback.
And they didn't lose, amazingly. Which I guess is where we are.
What does it mean? I have no earthly idea. Probably not as much as it feels like it might. The Bears are now very hurt and definitely not very good, but the intoxicating euphoria of regular-season victory can be ... enjoyed?
Let's try it. We forgot what to do with 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.
