The Bears clinched the NFC North yesterday.
But after one of their biggest wins, rookie coach Matt Nagy couldn’t help but flashback to a painful loss in Week One against the Packers, as evidence of how far his team has come.
“Ninety-eight days ago,” Nagy told Peter King of NBC’s Football Morning in America. “That’s the night we lost in Green Bay. . . . I will remember that night for the rest of my life. I will remember the look in those players’ eyes. I looked at those 50 guys and told them, ‘This is happening for a reason. You’re not gonna trust me right now, but this is a long season, and we’re only at Week One right now, and we’ll be okay.’ I wanted them to feel it for six hours, and then, next morning, to walk in with a smile on their faces.”
The Bears had chances to win that game, including cornerback Kyle Fuller dropping what could have been a game-winning interception. Nagy talked to Fuller about that before yesterday’s win over the Packers in the rematch, to remind Fuller that he came back to lead the league in picks (tied with Xavien Howard of Miami with seven).
That kind of attention to detail is part of the reason the Bears have bounced back so quickly, winning 10 games and the NFC North.
