Chicago Bears QB Trubisky: 'I thought I played really poor'

Mitchell Trubisky's postgame pink blazer clashed with a not-so-pretty offense that he had just quarterbacked.

But then, all wins are Kate Upton, particularly for a Bears team that thanks to Sunday's 17-3 triumph over the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field matched its 2016 victory total with still more than half the season left.

"I thought I played really poor," Trubisky, the rookie QB making his third pro start, said after the Bears improved to 3-4 and 2-1 in Breast Cancer Awareness Month with their second win in a row. "I just got to be better, overall."

What's the rush for a team with the Bears' pass rush? They sacked former league MVP Cam Newton five times, intercepted him twice and got a pair of touchdowns from rookie safety Eddie Jackson. Which explains how they won despite possessing the football for less than 22 minutes (21:25 compared to Carolina's 38:35) and mustering just 153 yards and 5 first downs.

"We just felt like we had everything under control so we really didn't have to go above and beyond to make anything happen," said running back Tarik Cohen, whose 70-yard reception accounted for nearly half the Bears' offense. "We just stuck to our fundamentals and did what we do. We run the ball."

After Jackson's pair of long runs (75-yard fumble and 76-yard interception returns for touchdowns), the Bears went into the equivalent of a four-corners stall.

"Eddie 14, Carolina nothing," Bears tight end Zach Miller said.

Whatever works, and on Sunday that was a water pistol. The gun-slinging Trubisky fired 7 passes, total, completing four for 107 yards.

"That's how it is," Trubisky said. "We're just finding ways to win games. We had more pass plays called. I was just pulling them down, being conservative and taking sacks (four). I was just trying to play smart, protect the football and get out of here with a win.

"But, yeah, we got to get better in the pass game, and that comes on me."

Trubisky wasn't even satisfied with what turned out to be the longest offensive play by either team. With the Bears up 14-3 late in the first half thanks to Jackson's defensive scores, Trubisky aired it out over the middle of the field on first down from the Bears 25. Cohen caught the ball, zigged and zagged, and finally was stopped at the 5.

"He had a nice double move on the corner," Trubisky said of his fellow rookie. "(Tight end) Dion (Sims) took the safety out, deep. As soon as the safety goes and Tarik beats his corner, I just give him the pass. If I could have led him a little more, he could have walked into the end zone."

"It's something we've been working on throughout the week," Cohen said. "We really felt like if we got the safety to come down, it would be a big play for us. Everybody executed, and Mitch threw a good ball."

The offense never got into a rhythm, however. Carolina reeled off eight plays to begin the game, but on the ninth wide receiver Curtis Samuel muffed Newton's lateral. Jackson scooped the ball and raced to the end zone untouched. By the time the Bears offense took the field, only 7:46 was left in the first quarter.

"I had to rewarm up," Miller, the Bears' leading pass catcher with 2, said with a smile. "But that's how it plays out sometimes. There are going to be times when (the offense) is going to have to pick up the slack for our football team. I thought the defense today played lights out. They're bringing that 'Monsters of the Midway' back."

And waiting for the offense to scare up some points.