Bears fans woke up Sunday with reasons to be grumpy. Before the game against Minnesota, the team was in last place, players were getting hurt in droves and answers were lacking.
Throughout the turmoil, coach Marc Trestman's tone never wavered-much to some fans' chagrin.
"I think this team and this locker room is in a good place at this time," he said after last week's loss that shall not be named.
That was tough to swallow, even if calm and collected is how Trestman would appear if the wheels fell off his car while cruising down the Kennedy Expressway.
Everyone who has a stake in the Bears can feel slightly better after they beat the Vikings 21-13 at Soldier Field. Of course, seeing as this means they merely pulled into a last-place tie in the NFC North with Minnesota, no one is jumping for joy.
"We're nowhere near [where we want to be]," offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod said. "Getting this 'W' is cool, but we've got six more games. We've gotta take this thing one week at a time, one day at a time, keep playing at a high level and hopefully it will come together."
Let's not forget Sunday's win was the Bears' first at home this season; they host former coach Lovie Smith and Tampa Bay next week. While everyone cues up their favorite "Rex is our quarterback" reference, here's who's in a good place and who probably would prefer to be somewhere else.
GOOD PLACE
Jay Cutler. To be fair, maybe "improving" is the better word. His numbers deserve mild applause: 330 yards passing, three touchdowns and two interceptions. But-and there's always a "but" with Cutler-his turnovers could have hurt more than they did and likely could have been avoided. Still, a win's a win, eh?
"I think everyone had a chip on their shoulder," Cutler said. "No one is happy with where we're at. I think it showed today."
Matt Forte. The word "great" definitely applies to this Bears workhorse. If there's one guy on the Bears who seems unflappable amid the chaos, it's him. All he does is produce. He had 175 total yards Sunday, including 117 rushing.
"I know his shoulders are pretty sore because he was carrying us around that whole field," offensive lineman Kyle Long said. "He's an amazing competitor and even better teammate, so it's good to see him have success. I feel really good for him. It just feels a lot better getting a win after he takes a beating like that."
Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. It's virtually impossible for receivers to play well when their quarterback isn't. On Sunday, the pass-catching duo combined for 225 yards and three touchdowns, including several jaw-dropping plays in traffic. For a second or two, people actually forgot Marshall plans to step into the boxing ring with a Twitter troll. Oh, and beer's on Jay Cutler, guys.
"All three touchdowns were tremendous plays," Trestman said. " We try to put the ball in a place where they can use their body in the catch radius, and we did that today."
AMC. What wouldn't you give to be an exec at that network right now? They just keep churning out hits that dominate ratings. "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men," for starters. And with all due respect to the NFL, "The Walking Dead" is how viewers should be spending their Sunday nights.
Kora the pit bull. Regardless of what happens the rest of the Bears season, the story of this pup who was abandoned for a month and then nursed back to health will warm your heart. She could turn any sour day sweet, trust us.
BAD PLACE
"We've been practicing that for a while and I thought that was a good situation to run it," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. Andrew Sendejo ran 48 yards down to the Bears' 7-yard line on the play.
This weather. OK, so the flurries Sunday looked like picturesque, even peaceful. Then you go outside and realize mid-November is too early to be dealing with salt on your shoes. Can we make a rule that there be no snow until the tree in Daley Plaza is lit?
"It was fun playing in my first snow game," said Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who clearly doesn't have to drive in the winter. Or shovel snow. "As a child you dream of playing in the snow. We didn't get the results that we wanted today and that's what's important."
Adrian Peterson. The Vikings running back is doing whatever he can to get back on the field in the wake of his arrest on child abuse charges. On Friday, he failed to show up at a hearing because he's ticked at the NFL and thinks he's being treated unfairly. Just a mess all the way around.
Chris Sosa is RedEye's sports editor.