Imagine a 2-0 Bears Team

The Bears put themselves in a completely unexpected position by overtaking San Francisco last week in the rain at Soldier Field.

At least in the minds of NFL observers they did this.

To the team, nothing much has changed other than they are 1-0. Eberflus and his staff are about as process-driven as it gets and you get the feeling they would almost feel disappointed they didn't get to go through the growing pains of a rebuild if they had a sudden and total turnaround of this franchise.

"Yeah, I mean, I just think that you take one game at a time and you've got to micro it down," Eberflus said in a predictable yet pragamtic approach. "And however you get it done, you get it done.

"It's about being resilient as a group and knowing that we have each other's back."

Put together a string of these types of games when they knock off opponents no one could have possibly projected during Year 1 of a rebuild, and it becomes serious.

It becomes serious, to people outside of the Bears, that is.

"Listen, there are 17 games, and it's a season of progress, and to panic over one game, to panic over one thing, it's a long year," offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said.

It's why Getsy expects the Packers to be as dangerous as ever after an unexpected Week 1 dud, and why he would anticipate simply going back to work and preparing for Houston whether the Bears pull off an upset or lose in Week 2.

However, perception is reality and to deny this is being unrealistic.

Much would change if the Bears knock off Green Bay, even if there are 15 games remaining. If they lost, no one would think much different about their future because this is, after all, the early first year of a rebuild.

Here's how perception and reality would intersect after Sunday night's game if the Bears do the totally unexpected and go 2-0 by beating a team they have had no success at beating since Aaron Rodgers became starter in 2008.

1. Change in Prospects

Beating two NFC playoff teams in succession, including Aaron Rodgers, puts the Bears in with the trendy teams people talk about for the playoffs.

Any team can get lucky on any given Sunday in the slop at Soldier Field. Do it two straight weeks and you are somebody.

Before making a face like Jim Mora and hollering "Playoffs? Did you say playoffs?," realize that the Bears went into the season with the eighth-easiest schedule in the NFL based on last year's opposing winning percentage (.471) and they would have gotten past two of the five toughest games on their schedule at 2-0.

The next three most difficult games, based on expectation, don't come until December. Their remaining opposing winning percentage based on last year's records would then be .443. The easiest schedule coming into this season was .462 for Dallas and Washington.

The Bears would be 2-0 facing a soft schedule with the exception of one stretch in December. They are playing almost all of their games at home in December and January.

Of course people are going to look at them differently at 2-0, even if coaches strive to keep their expectations well below their preparation level.

2. Possible Accelerated Rebuild

Sometimes the unthinkable happens and rebuilding teams make remarkable turnarounds. It's really rare and usually occurs after a few years of losing during rebuilding seasons the way the Cincinnati Bengals did it. The St. Louis Rams in 1999 had won 15 total games the previous three years and then suddenly won the Super Bowl with QB Kurt Warner and coach Dick Vermeil.

The Bears themselves did it in 2018 by going from the drudgery and gloom of the John Fox era to a division title, but their groundwork had been put in place already with Vic Fangio setting up a strong defense prior to Matt Nagy's hiring.

However, there are overnight changes in these days of parity and free agency.

The Miami Dolphins went from 1-15 in 2007 to 11-5 with a new coaching staff and a division championship. The Saints went from 3-13 to 10-6 and in the playoffs in 2006 for Sean Payton's first season, before losing to the Bears in the NFC championship game.

Go 2-0 with Justin Fields at quarterback and suddenly that long-term rebuilding plan seems more like you've taken the hidden side door in Super Mario Brothers and have moved up a couple of levels without needing to go through the Hammer Brothers.

People stop talking about rebuilding and focus on competing for the playoffs.

3. Chicago Loses It

Wins over the 49ers and Packers in successive weeks? Those would be the two biggest wins in succession by the Bears since the Marc Trestman era started in 2013 with wins in Weeks 1 and 2 over playoff teams from the 2012 season, the Bengals and Vikings. They followed it that year with a blowout win at Pittsburgh and had Chicago buzzing. They were somewhat restrained because they realized they still had Jay Cutler at quarterback.

But beat the 49ers and now, above all else, the Packers with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and the city will be putting Bears helmets on the lions' heads at the art institute again. For the uninformed or relatively young, they did that in 1985 during the Super Bowl run.

Suddenly a city watching the White Sox completely disappoint, the Bulls fall apart down the stretch, the Blackhawks and the Cubs mired, would suddenly have a reason to explode.

Momentum can be a huge thing in Chicago.

Above all else, Chicago always has been a Bears Town.

Delirium would ensue.

4. They Become Primed for Week 3 Upset

Riding high at 2-0 and playing the lowly Houston Texans with former Bears coach Lovie Smith in charge would be a perfect trap game.

Smith knows all about the defense Matt Eberflus plays because he played it here already and still does. He has an underrated quarterback in Davis Mills and were beating the Indianapolis Colts 20-3 in the second half before they wound up playing for a tie.

No one wants to be the 2-0 team that gets upset by one of the worst teams in the league, but considering where the Bears have been and what people expected of them all offseason, they probably wouldn't mind being the home team looking to avoid an embarrassing defeat in Week 3 while remaining unbeaten.

5. Heightened Expectation

Everyone would expect more from a young, over-achieving team moving forward into the season. How would they handle this?

No doubt they'd love to find out.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven