The Chicago Bears assumed the familiar role of “us against the world” last night and defeated Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles played well but the Bears played better. 

It was a gamer game -  the kind of game we’re accustomed to seeing from the Pittsburgh Steelers or New England Patriots. And the Bears responded. No miscommunication on the offense. No blown assignments on the defense. An actual comeback in the second half?!!! And poise under pressure from a certain QB who Chicago loves to hate. All this, on the road.  It’s a good morning, Chicago. Don’t even care if it is raining.

This is how it is supposed to be. This is how it was drawn up from the beginning.

Make no mistake about it, the Philadelphia Eagles are good. They have an outstanding QB and a terrific running back. They play at a very high level. So that’s why this win is sweeter than most (not to mention that the Eagles were heavily favored). It is also sweeter because Cutler, Peppers, Urlacher, Briggs and even fumble-fingers Matt Forte played ball on national television. And if you read this Bears rant regularly, that’s all I ever want.

Congrats to the Bears organization. You’ve won back a fan. Just in time for the holidays. Which probably was your plan all along. The Bears play well in November, forcing fans to spend loot on merchandise. Great conspiracy theory, eh?

And I have to give big ups to Bears head coach Lovie Smith. The Bears are 5-3 and currently in wild card contention. They’ve also rattled off three wins in a row. NFL fans, take note.

Here are some other random observations:

This is how the Eagles came out of the tunnel:

The conversation in the City Room this morning is delightfully positive. “We can beat the Lions. We can beat the Chiefs. The Broncos? Give me a break. The Packers on Christmas? Done. RUN THE TABLE!!!! WE ARE GOING ALL THE WAAAAY!!!!!!!” Then Tony Sarabia smashed a window and it got weird.

Either Peppers is a huge drama queen or he is the toughest man on earth. How many times does a football player hurt his knee (twisted back under a pile) and return four plays later? Usually when a defensive lineman has a knee injury, he’s out for like, two years. This guy is unbelievable. Or he is faking. Regardless, I think Julius Peppers is the best defensive lineman in football.

John Gruden said that Lovie Smith dresses more defensive backs than any other team in football. He said it was for special teams. Is that true? Can someone fact-check this? Not me, I’m busy fixing the window Sarabia broke.

Towards the end of the game, Xfinity was selling those local commercials like crazy. Doesn’t it seem like every other local commercial is for a business in Willowbrook?

Is it me or does Roy Williams look awkward out on the field? I don’t know if it’s the way he wears his pads or helmet, but something is off. It’s like his neck is too tall or something. Maybe the Bears have only one set of pads left, and they used to belong to Bobby Engram. And now Williams has to wear them.

Devin Hester was neutralized and the Bears won without him. Cut him and bring back RW McQuarters. Right? Am I right Chicago?

You know what I would like to see less of? This:

Let’s do a quick poll. This poll is for the coaches. Which Bear should run extra laps at practice this week?

• Matt Forte (2 fumbles, one resulted in Eagles TD)
• Roy Williams (couple catches, but dropped huge bomb)
• Major Wright (interception, but faked out of shorts down by goal line)

And let’s do a positive poll: Who should get a free can of soda from the vending machine?

• Jay Cutler (this is what we paid for, eh?)
• Brian Urlacher (his pursuit and energy was just plain awesome)
• Lance Briggs (loves playing against Vick)
• Julius Peppers (hurt, comes back, chases Vick all over field)
• Earl Bennett (look, a WR sighting!!!)
• Matt Forte (even with fumbles, put together 130 yards)