CHICAGO _ Brian Urlacher's former Bears teammates mobbed the Hall of Fame linebacker Monday in the middle of Soldier Field, just like the good ol' days.
Mike Brown came from California, Adewale Ogunleye flew in from Florida and many guys live close enough to drive. No way the men who lined up alongside Urlacher on so many strong Bears defenses _ Lance Briggs, Alex Brown and friends _ were going to miss the chance to see the organization honor one of its greatest players. Team matriarch Virginia McCaskey, 95, presented Urlacher a ring during a cool ceremony at halftime of the Bears' 24-17 win over the Seahawks in front of home crowd full of men and women of all ages in oversized No. 54 jerseys.
"It feels great to be back," said Urlacher, attending a Bears home game for the first time since retiring in 2012. "Most importantly for me was playing in front of you fans every Sunday for 13 years."
On a night of nostalgia, the Bears reminded everyone of the Urlacher Era a little more than anybody would like.
The defense dominated, the offense did just enough and too often the quarterback made you groan. It was as if the Bears were paying tribute to Urlacher by using the formula that became so familiar during his career from 2000 through 2012. It was a victory made possible by a defense that thrived with six sacks and two turnovers while its offense survived. It was Turn Back the Clock Night, circa 2006 when the Bears won the NFC championship, with the most impressive touchdown of the game courtesy of the defense when cornerback Prince Amukamara returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown with 6 minutes, 37 seconds remaining.
How fitting on a night the franchise honored Bears royalty that the play of the game came from a Prince.
Still, this wasn't necessarily the bold new football world Chicago was promised under coach Matt Nagy, who earned his first career head-coaching victory against a bad Seahawks team missing five starters. This was history repeating itself along the lakefront, a defense that deserves better overcoming an offense limited by a quarterback who clearly has a long way to go.
Suffice to say, the evolution of Mitch Trubisky continues, but the Bears defense has arrived with a bang.
Trubisky simply needs to play better, and the sooner the better. Nagy must find the balance between showing patience and demanding improvement. In two games, the Bears defense has shown signs of being playoff-caliber thanks to the addition of outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who had another sack and a forced fumble. In the same span, the offense has identified itself as the team's weakest link due largely to Trubisky's limitations. The offense's execution fell short of matching Nagy's innovative play-calling, the most creative call the well-designed 3-yard shovel pass to tight end Trey Burton for the Bears' first touchdown.
Forget comparing Trubisky to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes or Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, the two guys taken later in the 2017 NFL draft in case you missed the first 37 times "Monday Night Football" mentioned it. Settle for finding a game manager Trubisky can emulate as he matures. Alex Smith of the Redskins, anyone? That's probably fairer and more realistic.
If the Bears deny the reality of what Trubisky is _ and isn't _ nothing will change. And things have to change, even if Trubisky finished a respectable 25 of 34 for 200 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The arrow must start pointing up again next Sunday in Arizona because the Bears defense already appears in midseason form.
The first half underscored the urgency, particularly the second quarter when Trubisky regressed and threw two costly interceptions. The first one came when Trubisky underthrew wide receiver Allen Robinson down the home sideline and Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin made an easy play. If Trubisky wants to push the ball downfield, great, but that pass must be thrown to a spot where it's either incomplete out of bounds or overthrown. The second interception, also by Griffin, came on a deflected pass.
After 14 NFL starts, Trubisky threatens defenses more with his legs than his arm, which is kind of like a baseball pitcher being better at the plate than on the mound. The ability to run should complement Trubisky's game rather than be its most dangerous element.
For a passer who came out of college known for his accuracy, Trubisky has been unexpectedly inaccurate. He missed Jordan Howard in the flat and Taylor Gabriel over the middle. He struggled finding a rhythm and his throwing mechanics suffered. At times when Trubisky looked across the line of scrimmage he appeared as stumped as somebody trying to solve a crossword puzzle. His best throws came on the run, such as the 10-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Miller on a rollout left in the third quarter. In that quarter, after recomposing himself at the half, Trubisky completed 9 of 10 passes for 68 yards as the Bears offense slipped into safe mode.
It was as if Nagy realized that he can't yet rely upon Trubisky to win games so he will seek to make sure he's not the reason the Bears lose them.
That might not be how Nagy envisioned winning, but that way can work. If you doubt that, you missed the halftime show.
