CHICAGO -- It was an almost-win for the history books.
For the first time since Oct. 5 -- a span of six losses by an average of 21.3 points -- the Chicago Bears lost by only single digits: 20-14 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Pop the RC Cola reserve, McCaskey family. A six-point loss! They covered the spread!
Oh wait, this also tied for the fewest points the Bears have scored all season. Cancel the Jimmy Clausen statue dedication. But still -- close loss! Close loss!
In what could be a franchise-changing season, the Bears have lost 10 games, and only three were by single digits: a 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the season opener, a 31-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers and now, this game.
Two of those games were at home, so don't say the Bears don't appreciate their fans. Chicago went 2-6 at Soldier Field, the same as in 2004, which was Lovie Smith's first season as coach.
They can tie the 2004 team for the worst record in the past decade with a loss at the Minnesota Vikings next week, or they could win for the first time since Nov. 23.
Either way, this one will go down as one of the team's most disappointing seasons in the modern era. It might be No. 1.
"I've said this far too many times over the last few weeks," Bears coach Marc Trestman said. "We have a disappointed locker room in there."
At least there's only one game left in the season -- and likely in the Trestman era, as well.
Before this season, we had Brandon Marshall hyping Jay Cutler as an MVP candidate. By the final home game, Marshall was injured, and the benched Cutler watched as a healthy bystander while Clausen started his first game since 2010.
Benched for Clausen is usually a prelude to retirement or the Ol' QB Glue Factory. Cutler will get paid tens of millions of dollars wherever he plays the next two years.
Although Clausen earned plaudits for not playing like Rookie Jimmy Clausen, this was the sixth time in 10 losses that the Bears failed to score 20 points and the third time they managed 14. They still haven't managed to score 30 this season. To Clausen's credit, he took care of the ball, and the defense and special teams gave the offense chances to win.
"Obviously, we didn't get a win, so it really doesn't matter how anyone played," tight end Martellus Bennett said.
Still, while a loss is a loss, as my sources tell me, this one felt different to observers. More professional.
"The score's closer, if that's what you mean," Bennett said. "Anytime the score is closer, it seems that way. But I thought guys have been competing the whole year. But the score being closer just seems like it was more competitive than what it was."
"Terrible, terrible," Bears defensive end Jared Allen said. "There are no moral victories in football. We lost."
Actually, Bears general manager Phil Emery has done a research project about moral victories and ... Just kidding. Emery, who should be worried about his job, hasn't talked to us in a while, so I don't know what kind of research project he's been cobbling together. But I'm guessing it's not about close losses. Probably more about how this season isn't his fault.
Trestman benched Cutler because he said it gave the Bears a better chance to win this game. What do you know? He was right. Clausen didn't turn the ball over until the final drive as the Bears tried for the comeback.
"We were in [a] highly competitive football game against a team that is going to the playoffs," Trestman said. "We stood tall. We played hard. We're not trying to sugarcoat it. We didn't win. We're here to win."
Given the way it played (a stereotypical Lions late-season, slapdash effort) Detroit would've gotten rocked by an actually good team.
The Bears' scores came after a muffed punt gave them possession on Detroit's 11-yard line in the second quarter and again when Pat O'Donnell drew a penalty on a punt in the third. Three plays later, the Bears scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery.
Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford had a game that was like an homage to the benched Cutler -- a scattershot effort that included two interceptions and no touchdowns. Detroit also lost a fumble and had seven penalties, including a running-into-the-punter call that gave the Bears possession back.
"If you do that against a really good team, you're going to make it impossible on yourself," Stafford said.
Against the Bears, that's a six-point win.
With the Bears long eliminated from playoff contention, the crux of the pregame coverage was on the new quarterback, the other punky QB known as Jimmy.
Clausen went 23-for-39 for 181 yards and two touchdowns in his first start since his terrible rookie season with Carolina. Given that he was the surprise starter over Cutler, announced via an Adam Schefter tweet Wednesday, this was a pretty good performance. When it was announced guard Kyle Long would miss his first professional game with injury, we figured the Lions' front four would drop-kick him back to South Bend, Indiana.
But Clausen got sacked only twice, and after a dirty hit, Clausen, sans helmet, challenged defensive end Ziggy Ansah. It was a show of bravado that local Grabowskis, if not his teammates, surely appreciated.
"I respect that," Bears defensive end Jeremiah Ratliff said. "If it goes down, hey, we all in."
With many coaches and players moving on after this season, Clausen showed he has a future as a backup quarterback in this league.
"What do I think I did for myself? I think I just went out there and competed," Clausen said. "That's the biggest thing that I think I did and showed that I can play in this league. But it's not about me. It's about winning football games."
Will he start next week in Minnesota? Trestman wouldn't say. That's a mystery for the final week of practice, a tertiary distraction from what's to come on "Black Monday."
Although moral victories don't exist for players, they do for Bears fans: After this loss, there's only one game left.