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Rozner: Mitch Trubisky did not look ready for prime time. The Bears' defense did.

When the 2017 season concluded, the Chicago Bears insisted they were done with moral victories.

It wasn't the first time fans had heard such a message. They didn't have to travel far back in time to find the last one, from the 2016 finale.

But after the colossal collapse against Green Bay in Week 1, there was more of the same - if not exactly the same - as new coach Matt Nagy spoke of that excruciating defeat as being part of "a process."

No doubt a learning process - in the fourth year of a rebuild.

There were silver linings, naturally, from the defeat in Wisconsin, which you were supposed to hang your hat on until getting a chance to beat an awful Seattle team Monday night and a much worse Arizona team next week in the desert.

This one was supposed to be easy as Mitch Trubisky settled into his role as a star NFL quarterback, after watching Kansas City's Pat Mahomes - who was drafted eight spots behind Trubisky in the 2017 first round - tear up the league the first two weeks of the season.

The Chiefs, who lead the NFL with 80 points and are 2-0 on the road, don't seem to miss Nagy all that much, though it's awfully early in the 2018 season.

Still, Nagy's play-calling was the subject of much discussion and disgust after the way the Bears failed to put away the Packers.

All the things for which John Fox was hammered the last few years - including a reluctance to throw down the field - were still apparent in Game 1, and it was necessary in Game 2 for Nagy to display a bit more confidence against the Seahawks.

But playing in prime time Monday night at Soldier Field, Trubisky got off to an uneven start with an overthrow, an underthrow and one pass in the flat that was almost picked, but he nevertheless engineered a 96-yard touchdown drive on the Bears' first possession.

His first interception Monday came on the Bears' third possession, a severe underthrow downfield as he missed an open Allen Robinson, and on their fourth possession he was picked again when his pass was tipped at the line.

On their next possession and late in the first half with the Bears in field-goal range, Trubisky underthrew an open receiver in the end zone by 7 yards for what could have easily been his fourth interception of the first half.

But the ball was dropped and the Bears cashed in for a 10-0 lead, eventually taking a 10-3 advantage into halftime.

It was apparent by then why Nagy has been wary of going down the field with his inexperienced quarterback, just as Fox understood last season. Trubisky's footwork leaves a lot to be desired and the supposed strong arm has yet to reveal itself.

The Bears' defense was so dominant Monday and Trubisky so inconsistent that you can understand why Nagy is reluctant to put the game in his hands, when a decent running game and short-pass attack ought to be enough to win plenty of games against bad teams.

So far, it has the feel of the old Rex Grossman days, when the Bears relied on their defense to win games and hoped the offense could do enough to get by.

It was barely enough Monday when the Bears took out Seattle 24-17, with help from a defensive touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

It will be enough next week in Arizona, where the Cards (0-2) have been outscored 58-6.

After that, the Bears will need to get more from their quarterback.

Chicago, as is almost always the case, holds its breath.

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