Steve Silverman

Stampeding. Rolling. Dominating. Obliterating.

Choose your own action verb here.

The Chicago Bears are one of two undefeated teams in the NFL — and they may just stay that way for a long time.

That’s right, the same Chicago Bears team that had one of the worst passing games in the league last year has found its stride and is playing with passion, efficiency and skill on both sides of the ball. They are may actually threaten the collective egos 1972 Dolphins by going undefeated this season. More on that later.

The Bears are dangerous because they are balanced. They can beat their opponents in so many ways and they do it by following a formula that has been used by many of the great championship teams of the past.

They play choking defense. They attack with the pass early and build a lead. They continue to step up on the defensive end. They add to their lead with solid special-teams play. The game is safely over by the start of the fourth quarter.

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Rex Grossman deserves much of the credit. Through his first three years, Grossman was basically a rumor. Injuries impacted his development in each season and he was labeled as “injury prone.” While Grossman was obviously frustrated, the interesting thing is that his coaches and teammates never stopped believing in him. In the show-me world of the NFL, that’s almost shocking. Even Pro Bowl players are made to feel like invisible men when going through the rehab process, let alone unproven quarterbacks.

Grossman has remained upright this season and has been brilliant — up until his horrific Monday night performance against the Cardinals where he accounted for six turnovers. His numbers through the first five games of the season are MVP worthy. He has completed 136-of-213 passes for 1,6431 yards with 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. 

The only reason that both of those number are not higher is that the Bears have relented in four of their five wins after building substantial leads by the midpoint of the third quarter — if not sooner.

A group of Chicago receivers led by Muhsin Muhammad that appeared non-descript in the summer has specialized in making big plays early and often. Muhammad leads the Bears with 32 catches for 401 yards and two touchdowns. Speedy Bernard Berrian has four TD receptions and has become a big-play threat. Even the long-dormant tight end position has produced five TDs (two by John Gilmore, three by Desmond Clark).