Over the final two weeks of the season, coach Matt Nagy intends to focus more on one aspect of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky's game than any other.
"The biggest thing with me at the quarterback position is real simple—it comes down to decision-making," Nagy said Friday. "A lot of guys have talent. But I think the one [thing] that separates people is through decision-making.
"So, the next couple games, just keeping an eye on how his decision-making continues to grow, puts us in good spots. And then if there's a play that's not perfect, how do we keep it from being a bad play? He's been growing with that, and I think that's the key these next two games."
Trubisky has performed much better in the second half of the season than the first. After producing five touchdowns in his first seven starts, Trubisky has accounted for 14 TDs in his last six games, 12 passing and two rushing.
"The first half of the season, it wasn't that there was bad decision-making throughout," Nagy said. "There was a lot of things that went into the struggles with the offense. But there were some times that Mitch would tell you and that I would tell you that all collectively together that there might be a play that he wishes he had back.
"Some of it is don't make a bad play worse, or just don't force this throw or that throw, or sometimes it's on a run play. It might be a certain kill package that we have when you're not supposed to kill it. But he's been doing a really good job at limiting that. It's hard to be perfect.
"There's a lot of decisions, a lot of things that go into playing quarterback. Calling plays, getting in and out of the huddle, seeing what the defense is in. The easiest part of playing quarterback is actually making the throw. There's a lot of stuff that goes before that. So that's what we're trying to continue to see him grow in."
On the rise: After catching 17 passes for 218 yards in the Bears' first nine games, Anthony Miller has hauled in 32 passes for 431 yards in the last five contests.
The 2018 second-round pick from Memphis has topped 100 yards in two of his last three games, with 140 yards on nine catches in a win over the Lions Thanksgiving Day in Detroit and 118 yards on nine receptions last Sunday against the Packers.
"When we drafted him, we knew about the talent," Nagy said. "We knew about the want. We knew about the person and all that. We knew about being such a competitor, but you've got to do it. He's had the opportunity now to learn from one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and I think you're seeing that rub off on him now as a player. I'm talking about Allen Robinson for him as mentor.
"You get chances. You get opportunities. You've got to make them. If you remember we talked about some of the mistakes that Anthony was making early on. What he mentioned was, 'I won't make the same mistake twice.' He's validated that. He hasn't been doing that. So that's good, that's growth. Then confidence. So you have that. I think it's really good for our future."
Personal motivation: Even though the Bears won't be in the playoffs this season, Nagy plans to watch NFL postseason games.
"Some people just shut it off," Nagy said. "They don't want to be a part of it. To each their own. I just think you learn from it. For me, it burns me up the fact that I'm sitting at home and watching it. I use that as my own personal motivation to use it to get back there.
"And just kind of see more than anything situationally, how teams are doing things, whether it's through scheme or whether it's through situational football, I'll definitely watch."
In 12 seasons as an NFL coach with the Eagles (2008-12), Chiefs (2013-17) and Bears (2018-present), Nagy's teams have qualified for the playoffs eight times.
