Looking to hone his leadership skills, Mitchell Trubisky watched a TV copy of Sunday's loss to the Chargers to see exactly how his teammates viewed him.
"I've been watching the film copies of the game," said the Bears quarterback. "But this time I watched the [TV copy] to really see my facial expressions, my body language and what I'm really doing during the game."
It was a telling and eye-opening experience for Trubisky, who at times saw a stoic and stressed quarterback he hardly recognized.
"That told me a lot about myself," Trubisky said. "It was weird watching it because I really didn't feel like it was me. It was kind of a shell of myself. I'm going to get back to really leading in a way that I know how.
"It was mostly just like a guy who looks super serious, kind of tense. And that's really not me, especially when you're going out on the field and playing the game you love. You should be out there having fun, which I usually am. But I'm not showing that. I think I can portray that in different ways, especially in ways that my teammates can feed off."
After watching himself on tape, Trubisky will be more cognizant than ever of his demeanor around his teammates this week in practice as the Bears—losers of three straight—prepare to visit the Eagles Sunday in Philadelphia.
"Especially through times of adversity, they're always looking towards the leaders, they're always looking towards me and seeing how we're going to react, how we're going to bounce back and be positive, so [there will be] even more emphasis on that this week," Trubisky said.
"You've got to be excited for the opportunity. You've got to come work and have fun. That's what I'm going to do this week. When everybody looks at me, hopefully they just get motivated and are ready to go and ready to get their mind back on track."
Trubisky appeared to get back on track a bit against the Chargers, completing 23 of 35 passes for 253 yards. Although he overthrew Taylor Gabriel on one deep pass, the third-year pro had completions of 35, 31 and 31 yards to three different receivers. It was his second straight start after missing nearly two full games before the bye week with a left-shoulder injury.
"I feel like I was just a little more comfortable in the pocket after being out a couple weeks," he said. "Just keeping my eyes downfield and trying to make plays for my team; putting the ball in the right spot.
Trubisky completed 5 of 6 passes for 59 yards on third down plays but connected on just 2 of 6 passes for one yard in the red zone. The Bears converted 5-of-14 third-down opportunities but managed only one touchdown on five trips inside-the-20.
"I've just got to continue to make better decisions and stay on the field," Trubisky said. "I was better on third down, but not in the red zone, so that'll be a focus for this week. I've got to be good in all areas of the game, making decisions, good in the red zone, good on third down and help our team score points."
While Trubisky made strides against the Chargers, he knows he needs to keep improving in key areas, such as eliminating turnovers like the two he committed in the fourth quarter Sunday when the Bears were protecting a 16-10 lead.
"I feel good," Trubisky said. "Always progressing. Always learning from mistakes. Just always trying to get better. Get on the same page with 'Nags' and continue to stay confident in myself and my teammates that we're going to get things rolling and do what we need to do to put our team in a position to win."
