Grossman drops back to pass, he’s looking downfield. He lets one fly, it’s a jump ball, and.the catch is made by Desmond Clark! He gets away from the defender and is into the end-zone. TOUCHDOWN Bears!

I sat stunned, utterly in disbelief over what had just taken place. Did Desmond Clark just stop his route, jump over a Lion defender, catch the ball in mid-air, land and then pirouette himself away from the defender and walk into the end zone?

This was the same Desmond Clark who last year looked like he was 38 years old, instead of the 28 he was. The guy who looked as if he was permanently running in slow motion (he still does) and couldn’t separate himself from a defender if his life depended on it.

Yet on Sunday, he made one of the best catches I’ve ever seen a Bears player make. Any other year, a ball under-thrown by Grossman would definitely have been intercepted by the opposing team, but magically Clark managed to steal the ball from the defender and stake the Bears to an insurmountable 24-0 lead in the second quarter, on the way to a 34-7 victory against the Detroit Lions. (This is the same Detroit team that last week held the Super Bowl runner-up Seattle Seahawks to a measly three field goals).

Wow, a Chicago Bears offense lighting up the scoreboard. I began to wonder if I was in a parallel universe, where things are completely different than in this one; did this mean I didn’t have a biochem test on Tuesday?

Sadly, I was highly disappointed to find out that the cosmos hadn’t realigned, and my test was still on. But the burden of studying had just been eased by the discovery of an unknown specimen on Earth, the Chicago Bears offense.

The Bears, for the first time in a long time, actually looked like a complete team, which means an offense to go along with their stellar defense. Grossman was on fire, throwing crisp passes on his way to a career high 289 yards and four touchdowns. Grossman, the man who probably went undrafted in 95% of fantasy leagues, had more touchdowns than Peyton Manning, and any other QB on Sunday.

Grossman was helped by the rediscovery of a long extinct position for the Bears, the tight end. Overall, with Clark and John Gilmore combined, the Bears tight end position ended with 7 receptions for 93 yards and three touchdowns. Not bad for a position that has been non-existent for the team since Mike Ditka.

The Bears have also unearthed a legitimate No. 2 receiver in Bernard Berrian, who has caught TDs in two straight weeks. Berrian’s speed and ability to stretch the defense is the perfect foil to a possession receiver like Muhsin Muhammad.

The running game has been adequate over the last couple of weeks, with Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson still shaking the rust off after pre-season injuries. However, the drastic improvement of the passing game will serve to open up holes for the running game, as opposing teams will have to respect the pass and won’t be able to stack eight in the box.

Yes, the Bears offense is not going to stack up with the Colts anytime soon and Grossman clearly showed his lack of experience on a couple of plays. Yes, the Bears also played the Packers and the Lions, two teams that aren’t exactly going to make a playoff push. So the excitement should be tempered a little bit. But considering the defense that the Bears possess, which last week shutout Brett Favre for the first time in his career, any resemblance of an offense is a welcome addition.

Next week, the Bears play the Vikings, and have the chance to be the only team since the ’03 Vikings to open the season with three straight victories against division opponents. It would pretty much lock up a second straight division championship, but the way our offensive is playing, there is potential for a whole lot more.

Majesh Abraham is a junior in LAS. He is cursing the test schedulers for scheduling all his tests during the opening weeks of the NFL Season. You can reach him at [email protected].