Bears learn more about themselves in the tracks to win the Cardinals of Arizona

GLENDALE, Arizona – The product the Bears currently owns is not the one that Ryan Pace planned to assemble in April 2017. He did not yield to Mitch Trubisky, then hired Matt Nagy, then overflowed with money and draft. Capital on talent support just for a better prospect that fits more with what this franchise has been than what it could be.

It's ok for now. The Bears are 2-1 and at the top of NFC North after a 16-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium, thanks to one of the best defenses in the NFL, not an attack powerful and dynamic.

"We can not continue to rely on (the defense) to do anything to get us out of these situations," said Tarik Cohen. "We have to start finding our identity, as coach Nagy says, and start playing for ourselves and playing with pride."

The Bears attack is not close to what it should be or believes it can be. But as long as wins come and players and coaches see improvement from week to week – hey, it could be worse, right?

"You could say that's a good sign, but at the same time, if we can eliminate those inconsistencies and just play as if we could play and perform, I feel like I'm dominating," receiver Taylor Gabriel said. . "And we should be a playoff team once the offensive has clicked."

For Bears players and coaches, it's not about whether the attack will take place – it's when, as Gabriel said. But there have not been many signs that this is a group on the brink of collapse; instead, if it looks like a work in progress, and plays like a work in progress … it's a work in progress.

Namely, Sunday: Mitch Trubisky missed a number of deep shots, including two that could have landed for a try that ended with a shot on goal. He returned the ball twice and had to be eliminated by the Safety Tre Cardinals in two unfortunate shots before Jordan Howard dipped a meter for the only touchdown of the Bears game. Trubisky was upset by the Cardinals' exotic blitz early on ("I thought we were in Singapore for a minute," joked offensive lineman Kyle Long, with an impressive presence on the field).

But what Trubisky does not miss, as his teammates explained, is self-confidence, even if things do not go as well as he would like.

"I told him during the game, it's all part of your story," said running back Benny Cunningham. "When you play 10 years and you're one of the best quarterbacks in the league, you'll remember those moments that made you become yourself. He has been, throughout the course, smoothly. He understood the situation, just keep playing.

And for what it's worth, when the Bears needed three points, Trubisky helped deliver those three points with a 14-yard, 59-yard run that ended on Cody Parkey's winning field goal .

"We really had three games that went on cable," said receiver Allen Robinson. "At the end of the day, in some situations, from the first game to the second, in some situations we had to get points."

Immediately after a game, the locker rooms do not have many answers about how the Bears can reach their offensive potential beyond some general platitudes on ironing things, or something like that (and this n & # 39; It is not serious). benefit of film criticism). But the feeling among the offensive players is that they can and will be better, and they will eventually pay the defense for all the work that this group has done to get them to the top of the NFC North in the early stages of 2018.

"It's a good formula," said Cohen. "It works from time to time. But I have the impression that it would be a much better formula if the attack, the defense and the special teams were excellent. "