LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) -- Before the Bears put their season-opening loss behind them, they first accepted the blame.
Coach Matt Nagy explained that falling 10-3 to the rival Packers started with him. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky took ownership of his subpar performance. Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano pointed to preventing the "explosive plays" that changed the game. Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix referred to the lack of takeaways in a one-score loss.
Every individual inside Halas Hall felt some sort of responsibility for starting a much-anticipated season 0-1.
"We talk a lot about culture here," defensive lineman Akiem Hicks said. "That's what we've built."
While the coach and quarterback are particularly susceptible to blame -- that will always be the case when an offense manages only three points -- the defense that held Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to only one touchdown felt responsible too. So this, the Bears went to work correcting what went wrong with the hopes of bouncing back at the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon.
Nagy hopes to establish a more balanced Bears offense and put his mind together with his staff to figure that out. A key component to finding balance is sorting out more defined roles for the team's three running backs -- Mike Davis, David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen. From there, Nagy and the Bears are hopeful that Trubisky can regain the confidence needed to play at a high level.
The Bears know they can't sit back believing the defense will constantly lead their charge.
"There’s probably going to be a game this year, believe it or not, where our defense struggles and we offensively have got to pick them up," Nagy said. "I know it’s been a lot of the other way the past year and first game here, but that time will come. That's why you never start pointing fingers, because you just never know when your time is coming. They’ve been really really good with that, and that’s something that we never have to worry about."
When the Bears divided offense and defense for their respective film reviews last Friday, there was no back-patting inside the defensive meeting room. The front seven produced five sacks of Rodgers and the secondary contained him to only 203 passing yards, but there were mistakes that proved to be costly.
Safety Deon Bush bit on the tight end during a play-action fake by Rodgers in the second quarter, and it allowed a game-changing 47-yard completion downfield and eventually the go-ahead touchdown. With the Bears trailing from the second quarter on, the defense didn't produce the decisive turnover like it did so many times last season.
"We pride ourselves on taking the ball away and scoring on defense," the newcomer Clinton-Dix said. "When we don't make that happen, we kind of slap ourselves on the back of the head.
"It's always an emphasis to get turnovers."
Pagano was appreciative of how his players took ownership of what they didn't do in that loss rather than taking pleasure in what they did do.
"That's the culture here," Pagano said. "That's the mindset of this football team."
Among those still believing in the Bears' offense is Broncos star pass rusher Von Miller, who said by teleconference Thursday that he believes Trubisky and his unit "got way more in them." Denver coach Vic Fangio has seen Chicago's offense at its best before, just as he watched its worst on film from the opener.
Inside the Bears locker room, nobody's confidence is wavering. This is a team hoping to bounce back with a complete performance and a win.
"We're not interested in moral victories here," Hicks said. "We're interested in just playing good football."