Rozner: For Bears, winning ugly is pretty good

Never mind the TVs.

Mitch Trubisky and Matt Nagy could have turned off the lights at Halas Hall if those two had figured out a way to lose this one.

Facing a Lions team minus Matt Stafford and against Detroit's 31st-ranked defense, the Bears were able to squeak out a truly ugly victory at Soldier Field Sunday, hanging on for dear life in a 20-13 decision.

Perhaps it was because they had lost four straight, or maybe because they were surprised they could handle the hapless Lions, but the Bears - especially Trubisky - jumped around after touchdowns and celebrated as if they had won the Super Bowl.

That has to be some sort of irony considering the Bears (4-5) talked so much about the Big Game in Miami before this season, and now a game like this is cause for jubilation.

But when you play as poorly as the Bears have this season, taking down a dreadful opponent is big deal.

"It was a long four weeks for us," Nagy said. "We were completely tested and challenged today. It was not easy.

"Credit Detroit for playing the way they played with (quarterback) Jeff Driskel and those guys. The NFL's hard. There's a lot of parity."

So Trubisky can turn the volume back up this week after the Bears' starting quarterback said the televisions needed to be muted last week so that he wouldn't have to hear any criticism.

That's an NFL starting quarterback, one so fragile as to need those around him to say only that he's been great all season.

That difficult task usually falls on Nagy.

The good news for Trubisky is it will be nothing but holding hands and skipping rocks this week as Nagy celebrates the greatness of Trubisky once again.

"He made some really, really good throws," Nagy said. "It felt good to click."

The Lions, who started the game with half the roster on the injury report and saw the other half leave the game with injuries, opened the contest by walking down the field on the Bears' defense.

That was without the injured Stafford, who began Sunday with the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL and had to leave behind a streak of 136 straight starts dating back to 2010, due to a broken back.

The 26-year-old Driskel, in his sixth NFL start, led the Lions to an opening-drive field goal, while the Bears, naturally, went 3-and-out on their first possession, drawing the earliest boos of the season.

After one quarter, the Lions had 91 yards of offense to 19 for the Bears, and the 6 passing yards for Trubisky was a remarkable number considering the Lions entered the match allowing 300 yards passing and 440 yards of offense a game.

But after playing a horrible first 28 minutes - again - Trubisky led the Bears 80 yards and into the end zone for a 7-6 Bears lead, accounting for most of their 100 first-half yards.

The locals scored on their first two possessions of the second half and finished the contest with 5 straight punts, 4 drives going 3-and-out.

"This is hard for everyone to see, but there were some mistakes today that weren't (Trubisky's) fault," said Nagy, who's always looking out for the QB. "It's easy to come unraveled, but he stayed composed when it's easy to go the other way."

NFL quarterbacks aren't supposed to go the other way. They're supposed to stay composed and hit open receivers, which Trubisky did a few times Sunday, an improvement over the last few weeks.

He doesn't always get help from Nagy, who had his usual number of insane calls, like a double-reverse on the first play after a turnover when the game was in hand, a run that lost a yard.

On the day, Nagy ran it 24 times against 28 dropbacks, and Trubisky threw for 3 touchdowns, more than he's had in the last 4 games combined as the QB was skewered around the country.

"This is a tough league," said Allen Robinson of Trubisky's struggles. "Playing in this league you understand everything that comes along with it. You have to chug away and try to make plays."

Robinson was asked in several different ways how the receivers have maintained a belief in the quarterback, but he changed the subject each time.

"We're a team. We all put a lot of work in," Robinson said. "The biggest thing for us is try to make plays and do your job to the best of your ability. That's all you can do.

"We don't look at too much else. We just try to make plays as receivers when our number is called.

"We're helping our quarterback out, but we're really helping our team out. We're trying to win."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement from the Bears' best offensive player, but it will have to suffice for now, especially since the Bears are once against victorious and all is well.

Pump up the volume.