Bears vs Lions: Offense Clicking on All Cylinders in Detroit

The Detroit Lions did what they've been doing all season long against the Chicago Bears on Monday night, makings defenses look silly behind an electric passing attack.

But perhaps the most frightening thing for the rest of the league was the Lions finally found their running game.

Coming into Week 5, the Lions were averaging a mediocre 4.0 yards per carry and had scored only three rushing touchdowns. Coming into Week 5, there were still questions whether second-year pro Jahvid Best could be the feature back in Detroit.

Well, that all but vanished against the Bears. Not only did Best rip off some electric runs, the Lions proved that they could open up some huge holes by simply threatening to pass. Most of Best's runs came on draw plays, including a 88-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter.

The Lions were already proving to be a threat in the NFL before Week 5. They were 4-0, after all. But Week 5 proved that they can have a complete offense. Given they were averaging 31.8 points coming into the game without a running game, imagine what they can do if they execute this game plan consistently.

You add in their burgeoning defense, which has looked even better than expected after their late-season surge in 2010, and the Lions are beginning to patch up all the holes that made them a 6-10 team just last year.

Monday's victory against the Bears marked the Lions' first 5-0 start since 1956. They were 0-16 just three seasons ago. To complete the picture, Hall of Famer Barry Sanders did the Monday Night Football introduction right before the game.

The Lions used to be a model of how not to run a team.

Now they are looking like a model on how to build a team from the ground up.

Wait a second. Was I just talking about the Detroit Lions?