Have you heard? Bears have a take-charge QB

But Griese made all the right throws, including a pair to newly discovered wide receiver Devin Hester. More important, Griese was never flustered, even on the game-winning toss when he ducked away from Philadelphia pass rusher Juqua Thomas, who came this close to swatting the ball out of his hands.

"This is something I've done in the past," Griese said of calling his plays. "And it's something I'm comfortable doing. I'd be willing to explore it more if they (coaches) would be."

Memo to Lovie Smith: Give it a whirl. Because the Bears never looked better than they did on their game-winning series, with Griese producing five first downs along the way. Turner later said he was most impressed by how many people were involved with the drive, but let's be serious here: It doesn't happen if the quarterback suffers a brain lock.

Which he didn't.

Griese hit his first pass, an 11-yarder to Clark. He hit his third, a pass over the middle to running back Adrian Peterson. He found Hester for a 9-yarder. He hit Bernard Berrian for 25. Then Hester again for 21. Finally, he found Muhammad.

"The key to that drive was just getting started," said Griese. "When you get a couple of quick completions sometimes defenses get antsy."

What makes Griese's heroics so important is the magnitude of the occasion for the Bears. Had they lost they would've dropped to 2-5, 3½ games behind front-running Green Bay in the NFC North, and while there's more than half a season left Chicago would've been on the endangered list.

"When we came out in the second half," said Muhammad, "we pretty much knew our season was on the line. We talked about it last night in the hotel in our team meeting. We were pretty fired up.

"We had terrible room service, and the food was terrible at the hotel. They did just about everything they can do here to make the trip unpleasant. But we were able to stay focused, and it was good."

Good? It was marvelous. Because if the Bears can beat Detroit next weekend they can go into the bye at 4-4 which, considering their rough start, is an achievement -- and, as Griese said, a launching pad to the second half.

"If we can get to 4-4 I would feel good for the rest of the season," he said. "Hopefully, the momentum swings in our favor. Because this win means nothing if we can't win next week."

"It's a good starting point for us," said offensive lineman Roberto Garza. "Hopefully, we can get on a streak and get back to Bears football."

The streak I can see. But Bears football is playing suffocating defense and running the ball with power and precision -- neither of which has happened lately.

In case you didn't notice, that was Griese who launched an 81-yard touchdown pass in the last minute-and-a-half to tie Minnesota. And it was Griese again who threw a 34-yard game-winner with 2:05 left the weekend before to conquer Green Bay and cap a 20-point second-half.

For some reason, he and the team seem to operate best when they're faced with adversity. Bears football? That's when you're down by seven and looking deep for Hester. It's when you're digging deep to save a season in Green Bay. It's when you're Brian Griese without audio.

"I don't think a drive like (that 97-yarder) happens if everyone in the huddle doesn't believe," said Griese. "And when we were in the huddle on the 3-yard line I think everybody believed."

Maybe all of us should. The Bears aren't where they want to be. Not yet. But they might be getting there. And they can thank Griese.

That is, if he can hear them.