The Bears will spend the week focused on preparing for Monday night's home opener against the Seahawks and not dwelling on their tough Week 1 loss to the Packers.
"The longer you're in the league, the more you realize you have a fresh opportunity every week to go play somebody new, and for us it's Monday night at home against Seattle, and that's what we're excited about," said right guard Kyle Long. "We looked at the film and there's obviously corrections to be made, but that's what practice is for. So we'll use this week's practices to be able to improve on things we need to."
The Bears will return home Monday night looking to bounce back after watching a 20-0 third-quarter lead turn into a 24-23 loss to the rival Packers.
"In this league, you've got to have a short memory," said receiver Allen Robinson II. "There's a lot of games. You've got to forget about it. We've got a big task this week at home. I know what kind of team we have coming in here, so we've got to turn the page. [There's] a lot of football being played. I don't think you can really hang your hat—good or bad—on the week before, because at the end of the day, that doesn't matter. We're into another week."
After facing two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers Sunday night in Green Bay, the Bears will battle another top NFL quarterback in the Seahawks' Russell Wilson Monday night. That alone should help them turn the page.
"We've got another big game ahead of us, home opener against Seattle, another good team, another quarterback who can extend plays," said safety Eddie Jackson. "So we have to come in and work. Like Mitch [Trubisky] said, we can't let one game dictate the rest of our season. We have to put that one behind us even though it was tough. We wanted that one really bad, for the whole state of Illinois. We have to put that one behind us and come back ready to work."
The Mack attack
Bears players are still buzzing about new teammate Khalil Mack's debut performance Sunday night. After sitting out all of training camp and the preseason during a contract holdout with the Raiders, the outside linebacker returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown, generated another takeaway with a strip-sack of backup quarterback DeShone Kizer and generated pressure that helped teammates Roquan Smith and Roy Robertson-Harris both record sacks.
"Did you see Khalil's [play], where he just snatches the ball from [Kizer]?" said defensive end Akiem Hicks. "Who does that? You dream about that type of play, you know? Pretty cool."
"It was exciting to see," Jackson said. "He's the type of guy that when you watched him with the Raiders, we knew what he was capable of and for him to come out here and do it on the field with us, it was amazing to see."
Home sweet home
The Bears have won the most home openers of any NFL team (65), but they've dropped four straight to the Bills (23-20 in overtime in 2014), Packers (31-23 in 2015), Eagles (29-14 in 2016) and Falcons (23-17 in 2017).
"We're obsessed with protecting our home field and giving our fans what they want," Long said. "Obviously, we didn't give them everything they wanted on Sunday night. But our aim is to get a win this week against Seattle."
Urlacher to be honored
The Bears will honor former star middle linebacker Brian Urlacher for his recent Pro Football Hall of Fame induction with a Ring of Excellence ceremony at halftime of Monday night's game. Former teammates expected to attend the ceremony include Lance Briggs, Alex Brown, Mike Brown, Matt Forte, Roberto Garza, Israel Idonije, Olin Kreutz, Patrick Mannelly, Jason McKie, Adewale Ogunleye, Nick Roach, Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher.
"Growing up, I had the chance to watch '54' play," Long said, "and then having an opportunity to be around him and hear the many stories of his teammates that were still around when I got in the league, the guy played on fire. He was able to raise the level of intensity and charisma in this locker room. He was somebody that rallied the guys and was able to elevate everybody else's performance based on his work ethic and his talent. That's something that you really want to embody and try to mold yourself after. I really wish I got a chance to play with him. He was a terror on defense."
Your turn
Speaking of Urlacher, we want to know what you think, Bears fans. So tell us by clicking on the box below, and please keep your replies under 150 words. We will select some and post them on ChicagoBears.com Thursday.
