For the last two decades, the Chicago Bears have given fans reasons to be cautiously optimistic. We don’t see the football landscape through rose-colored glasses. So, perhaps it could not have been more befitting that the Bears were sporting all kinds of rosiness (shocking pink sweatbands, gloves and helmet stickers to be exact) in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Sunday when they played the Detroit Lions. Amongst all that pink was one bugglegum-sweet win, made of several sweet plays that all point to a team that is giving fans a reason to feel giddy.

If anyone felt a need for atonement after the disappointing loss to the Packers in the season opener, it was special teams. Remember Patrick Mannelly’s direct snap to the Garrett Wolfe?  Special teams decided to make amends in this Sunday’s huge 48-24 win over the Lions. Punter Brad Maynard kicked 4 punts that pinned the Lions inside their own 20. Robbie Gould set his career record high with a successful 52-yard field goal kick. And perhaps in the most thrilling Hesteresque moment, rookie wide receiver and sometimes kick returner Johnny Knox ran back the second half’s opening kick 102 yards for a touchdown. Since the beginning of the season, Knox has dropped little hints in his playing that he might possess the kind of speed that landed Hester in the record books.  Having back-to-back weeks of touchdowns, both as a receiver and a return man, it’s beginning to feel like we can truly believe Knox is not just lucky. He is someone special, and dangerously fast.

Quarterback Jay Cutler may have also wanted to erase any old memories of his four-turnover season opener.  Cutler answered the Lions’ first touchdown with a score of his own on the following drive by running 5 yards, diving into the endzone and flipping over defenders for his own touchdown. I’ll grant you that the last thing any Chicago fan (or his coaches for that matter) wants to see is the starting quarterback risking a season-ending injury. But I think that acrobatic leap, coupled with an attempted block Cutler made in late in the fourth, made an important statement to fans.

Bears fans will always embrace the Monsters of the Midway mentality. They’ll always expect the kind of players like Butkis or Singletary who strike fear into the hearts of their opponents as they tear through opponents with brute strength. This is a city of muscle. Cutler has had some history of bad press: his break from Denver may have painted him as a primadonna. Sunday’s play disproved that. Cutler isn’t afraid to get dirty. He’s not whining about calls when he could let his playing do the talking. More than any statement he could make at a post game podium, his willingness throw his body into the battlefield speaks volumes to his abilities and fortitude. Thatgoes a long way with fans…but, Jay, please, be careful, man!

Admittedly the defense had a rocky first half, most notably, allowing some of Maynard’s good field position to go to waste with a Lions 98 yard march down field for a touchdown. But it made good with halftime adjustments, even if Coach Smith claims they didn’t make any. Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye seemed bent on one-upping defensive player of last week Lance’s Brigg with stats of his own. Ogunleye registered 4 tackles and 2.5 sacks (half of the number he made in all 16 games last season!), one of which took the Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford out of the game. Also getting into the career records game, Tommie Harris landed his first interception in the second period, not too common for a defensive tackle.

So, if the goal was to rinse off the stink of game one, then mission accomplished? If October is going to be the month of rosiness around the NFL, I’m going to be optimistic that this Bears team is on the course of steady improvement. The one cause for concern is the extensive injuries that have taken Des Clark, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Pisa Tinoisamoa and now, in this last game, Devin Hester, and Adrian Peterson (your fanclub is still here AP!) out of commission for at least a game. But this is a bye week and sufficient time to get guys mended for the next contest against the Falcons.