(670 The Score) And here I had pretty much forgotten that we were actually allowed to enjoy watching a Bears game.
That was entertaining stuff indeed, however, with Matt Eberflus celebrating his first-ever winning streak as an NFL head coach, with both victories coming against divisional opponents, no less.
I'm not entirely sure what any of it means for the Bears yet, their 28-13 victory over the leaking Lions at Soldier Field, but not being miserable and frustrated on a Sunday afternoon is a perfectly good place to start.
It's also particularly satisfying to watch an aggressive defense that's playing well at all three levels, due to a combination of factors. First is overall health, with a secondary that began the season plugging holes with practice squad promotions and street free agents now featuring its top-line talent. The difference between Jack Sanborn and Tremaine Edmunds at middle linebacker is also both obvious and significant too. Second, Montez Sweat is indeed the multiplier that general manager Ryan Poles envisioned when he swapped a second-round pick for the defensive end, winning his bet that Sweat's impact could propagate positively. Finally, the Bears were delivering the promised effort regardless of situation or personnel grouping.
It added up to Jared Goff looking as bedraggled and confused as we're used to being. Yet another opponent seemed to beg the Bears to beat them, and this time they obliged.
The Bears offense had some usual hiccups after again looking great while running the opening script. A bizarre, failed fourth-down call early in the second quarter threatened to derail the game after the Bears grabbed a 10-0 lead and Eberflus yet again outcoached himself by allowing another set of consecutive possessions for the opponent going into the second half, but the defense, his quarterback, some good fortune on a critical call and the rediscovery of DJ Moore made it not matter.
It looked like Justin Fields' knee was down for a sack with the game tied in the third quarter and, if not, that his last-gasp throw while falling was textbook intentional grounding. But officials decided otherwise and the next play was a dime to a streaking Moore on fourth-and-13 for the score that grabbed the lead. Moore was untargeted in the first half and saw 10 chances thereafter, so go figure.
Fields' accuracy was a little shaky, perhaps due to his still-healing throwing hand and/or a series of hard hits that had him flexing his shoulder on the sideline. And yet he gutted out a 19-of-33 passing day for 223 yards, that nice touchdown throw and no turnovers. He also ran for a team-high 58 yards and another score. He was the better quarterback on the field.
The game-to-game evaluation of where Fields may fit in this team's future is merely guesswork to this point, and the same applies to the fortunes of the entire coaching staff. Looking at a soft remaining schedule that culminates with a rematch against the Packers, it's already something that the 5-8 Bears have solidified themselves as interesting from here on in — and in something other than the usual morbid way.
If they want to keep making it fun, we're here for it. It's an embarrassingly low bar, for sure, the idea that staying on the networks' "In the Hunt" playoff graphic is somehow aspirational at this point.
But we might as well get weird.
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.