"I just took it with me," said Matthews, who went down on a knee on the game's final play.

Matthews said he intended to take the ball home, too -- deservedly so after a 20-17 victory that brought out a sort of cultural conflict between Kansas City rookie head coach Gunther Cunningham and Chicago rookie offensive coordinator Gary Crowton.

Cunningham toiled 30 years as an assistant coach in college and the NFL before getting his chance to be a head coach. He's big on football-as-war metaphors. He curses a lot. On the eve of training camp, he showed his team the gory first half-hour of Saving Private Ryan.

Crowton was a career college coach with no NFL experience. He's quick with a smile, a Mormon who does not curse. He has no hesitation to line up five receivers on first-and-goal at the 6-yard line. He had a 20-3 lead at halftime and finished with 322 yards passing. Bears fans are used to neither. And no matter what the result, his offense is just plain fun to watch.

"I promise you, I'm not a guru," Crowton said. "I'm not doing anything revolutionary."

Cunningham made it clear he didn't think that anyway.

"They play 'razzle-dazzle' football, but once you see what it's about, it's not confusing," Cunningham said. "Once (opponents) see it on film down the road, we'll see what happens."

That seemed to be the question after the Bears won the season-opener under rookie head coach Dick Jauron. Matthews, who had never started an NFL game and had only two regular-season appearances, both in 1996, played a terrific game. He completed 25 of 38 passes for 245 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

First-round draft choice Cade McNown played one series, looking good, too, marching the team downfield on a long drive that ended with a field goal.

But the Bears were shut out in the second half, lending some credence to Cunningham's assessment, however sour the vintage 1999 Chicago grapes tasted in defeat.

"Razzle-dazzle, huh?" Matthews said.

Nine Bears had receptions. Crowton mixed plays and formations well. Four- and five-receiver formations were common, with a few end-arounds by kick returner Glyn Milburn.

"We haven't shown our whole playbook," Matthews said. "That's what people don't realize. We're going to run what works. Gary had a great game plan and called a great game. Razzle-dazzle? So be it. We moved the ball up and down the field. They never stopped us."

The Bears did almost blow the lead, though. In the second half, they gave up an 86-yard touchdown pass. Then the ball slipped out of Matthews' hand as his arm went back to pass, a fumble scooped up by Donnie Edwards for a 79-yard touchdown.

"If that ball doesn't slip out of my hands, it's a touchdown to Curtis Conway -- a 14-point swing," Matthews said.

Crowton, who said he respects Cunningham, was the one smiling Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field.

"Offenses are only as good as your people anyway," Crowton said. "I never claimed to be the most innovative man in the world. It wasn't run-and-shoot, like everybody thought it was. We played with three tight ends, two tight ends, a fullback. I'm just trying to use the people we have and move the football. I'm not going to worry about what Gunther Cunningham says. He's got his own worries with their team, and I wish him the best."

If nothing else, it was a different kind of day for the Bears. A radio commentator widely regarded as a "homer" turned into Howard Cosell when the Bears put in McNown after Matthews led the team scores on his first two series. He criticized the move, but it worked.

Matthews said it didn't bother him, because he knew it was coming. He was cut four times in the NFL, three times by the Bears. On this day, former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt, who didn't like Matthews, seemed a million miles away.

Chicago's Curtis Conway hauls in a first-half pass as Carlton Gray defends.(AP)

Jauron had no problem with mercurial running back Curtis Enis doing a summersault into the end zone for the Bears' first touchdown. One of the criticisms of Wannstedt's Bears is that they had no personality.

As for Crowton's offense, Jauron was not about to get into a debate about philosophies.

"My favorite offensive formation is taking a knee," Jauron said. "I love that formation."