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The Most Telling Moment of Sunday's Opener

| September 10th, 2012

It was the strangest of moments.

The goalline was pure steel and Jay Cutler seemed to have magnets in his ass pockets for the first half of the first quarter. The first drive was unique. Kellen Davis whiffed on a Robert Mathis block and Cutty was sent hard to the turf by the ageless pass rusher. Roberto Garza followed the sack by ten-pinning a snap and it was over before it started.

Cutler wasn’t having that on the second drive. With one swing of his mighty arm he complete – to Jerrell Freeman – one of the worst interceptions of his Bears career. 7-0. Colts.

Josie Woods went silent. My palms went sweaty. The half-pint of Coors Lights went down my throat. Then I had the most amazing of thoughts. It was one of those thoughts I never thought I’d have in my Bears fan life. I thought, “We’re going to beat this team by 30.”

And I believed it. Without ever seeing this new-look offense complete a pass I was fully convinced the franchise quarterback and Phil Emery-constructed receiving corps would score. A lot. I started remembering the 2005 season – a time when a seven-point hole was insurmountable. I started remembering the mid-90s under Dave Wannstedt – a time when a one-point hole was reason enough to turn off the television or head for the exits.

And I smiled. Because the Bears can score points now. A lot of them. At will. This might not be a revelation on par with some of Einstein’s better work but damn it if I didn’t think it a miraculous moment.