(670 The Score) It was a perfectly fine outcome for the Bears on Sunday, losing 25-20 to a far superior Eagles team at Soldier Field, and those of us still recovering from one of the best sporting events in memory can be forgiven for feeling it all a bit less than usual.
After spending three hours riding the emotional waves of France and Argentina battling gloriously in an all-timer of a World Cup final, it wasn't easy to throttle our senses down for regular-season football after such an astonishing showcase of futbol on its biggest possible stage.
I'm serious when I say that it was one of the single greatest sporting events I've seen in my life, and I can't even begin to imagine the impact that experience must have had for someone who actually cared who won. The stars and the storylines of the World Cup were compelling already before the game even began, and then to have the action and quality of play rise beyond such an occasion was transcendent.
The Bears? OK enough. They got closer to contending.
Their seventh straight loss dropped them to 3-11 on the season, still on track for more valuable draft position than if they had accidented their way to an unlikely win. Justin Fields did more to feed the growing belief across the league that he isn't merely a promising prospect but an ascendant superstar, completing 14 of 21 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including a late 35-yarder to Byron Pringle off a scramble that was exactly what his dwindling handful of remaining doubters have been asking him to do. Beyond that 119.5 passer rating while his team was down four injured receivers, Fields' 95 rushing yards featured another out-of-your-seats highlight, gave him the all-time Bears record for quarterback rushing yards in a season and moved him onto a list with only Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson as 1,000-yard rushers at the position.
Other players who will matter when the Bears are good had some moments as well. Jaylon Johnson made a series of plays while defending A.J. Brown all afternoon, and Brown's gaudy stats were more a testament to his talent and that of Jalen Hurts than anything Johnson did wrong in coverage. Johnson is good now and will soon be one of the best at what he does if he isn't already. Jaquan Brisker continues to improve, Kyler Gordon had an interception and unheralded cornerback Jaylon Jones flashed once again. And the Bears definitely have an NFL punter in Trenton Gill.
It's also important that others are showing that they're going in the opposite direction. Trestan Ebner doesn't do anything, Velus Jones Jr. should be cut if he keeps fumbling and can't run tighter routes, and the Alex Leatherwood development project may have hit a wall.
Here's hoping the injuries to Johnson and Jack Sanborn are minor and that the scary exit of Tevin Jenkins due to a neck injury was merely the maximum of medical precaution being taken and not anything worse.
Ultimately, it's another week off the schedule of what we all knew beforehand was going to be the nadir of a Bears teardown, and I know I didn't expect it to be overshadowed so powerfully by a sport I don't really follow.
I'm certain to be mindful of this day if and when Fields is doing what he does to win a Super Bowl. We need such bigger times.
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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