Khalil Mack, Not Mitchell Trubisky, Is Driving Force Behind Bears' Turnaround

The Chicago Bears' identity throughout history has been built around defense. The story remains the same, even after the additions of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and offensive-minded head coach Matt Nagy. 

The organization's latest addition, Khalil Mack, will define its direction throughout the season and into the future. His performances during his first two games have been nothing short of spectacular. It seems he's worth of every dollar of the $141 million contract the Bears inked him to, while Trubisky continues to provide inconsistent play. 

On the night the Bears honored Brian Urlacher at halftime by presenting his Ring of Excellence after his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Chicago captured a 24-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, and Mack showed why he's on his way to becoming the next well-known Monster of the Midway. 

"He's a bad dude, man," Urlacher said, per The Athletic's Mark Lazerus. "I don't understand how you give up a guy who's that good. I'm still baffled how we got him. I'm glad [general manager Ryan Pace] made it happen. He's a great addition for our team. He fits in perfect with our history here."

Don't worry, Brian. No one really understands how the Bears acquired the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The Oakland Raiders remain inept after accepting the deal.

"We gotta do something to get more pressure, maybe call more blitzes," Gruden absentmindedly admitted after Sunday's 20-19 loss to the Denver Broncos, per The Athletic's Vic Tafur. 

The Bears took advantage of another franchise's discord by building upon the side of the ball already considered their strength. Chicago finished 10th in total defense last season, and Nagy realized Vic Fangio's retention as defensive coordinator served his best interest.

"He challenges you quietly," Mack said of Fangio, per The Athletic's Jon Greenberg. "He has his own little swag about him, that Italian mafia kind of swag to him. But I love it."

Still, the group lacked a true difference-maker until now. 

Mack is one of the game's most well-rounded performers. Too often, an effective pass-rusher isn't good against the run or vice versa. The Bears' new outside linebacker is dominant in both phases. 

The 27-year-old finished Monday's contest with five total tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Mack's stat line doesn't tell the entire story, because he harassed Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson throughout the night, flushed him from the pocket, demanded double-teams and still couldn't be stopped in most cases. He worked through three different blockers to earn his only sack of the night: 

Mack worked through the tight end before Nick Vannett entered his route, overwhelmed right tackle Germain Ifedi with a bull rush and still got his arm around for the strip sack when right guard J.R. Sweezy attempted to help. 

This type of effort isn't natural, even for an elite NFL defender, and it's only the tip of the iceberg. Mack's presence must be accounted for at all times. Game plans are built around where he lines up. Blocking protections almost always slide to his side. 

So even when Mack isn't creating pressure, he's helping the defense. As a unit, Chicago hit or sacked Wilson on 13 different occasions. The Bears currently lead the league with 10 total sacks. If not for a herculean second-half effort from Aaron Rodgers last week, Chicago would be 2-0. 

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Furthermore, no one sets the edge quite like Mack. He obliterates the point of attack and consistently re-establishes the line of scrimmage. Offensive linemen can't even enjoy when they have the angle and think they've run him past the play, as Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson noted.

Mack's athleticism is on par with his power—which makes him nearly impossible to slow down. 

The same can't be said about the Bears offense, since Trubisky's play tends to sputter at times. The unit performed at its best the last two weeks within the structure of predetermined play-calling at the beginning of contests. 

Chicago scored touchdowns on both of its opening drives this year. Trubisky is 10-of-11 passing for 154 yards and two total touchdowns in those instances, according to ESPN Stats & Information. 

Once Nagy's preplanned approach is complete, last year's second overall pick doesn't appear nearly as comfortable in his role, even though the Bears have done everything in their power to make him so. Nagy and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich instituted many collegiate concepts to expedite Trubisky's maturation as a starting quarterback. It's helped to a degree, but the second-year signal-caller continues to struggle with decision-making, overall accuracy and pocket awareness. 

Quarterback play starts with footwork. Trubisky has a bad habit of not driving through the football. His poor technique led to the first of two interceptions when he couldn't get enough on a deep sideline attempt and underthrew Allen Robinson. Instead, Shaquill Griffin came down with the pass. Griffin struck again later in the second quarter when he snagged a tipped pass out of the air. 

Improper balance occurs when a quarterback isn't shifting his weight from his back foot onto his plant leg. Trubisky tends to airmail passes when this occurs. 

Also, the quarterback nearly maneuvered his way into a couple sacks and should have thrown a third interception when he bailed from the pocket early despite a lack of pressure. 

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Of course, it's a process. The Bears understand this. Trubisky has yet to start a full NFL season. Nagy is encouraged about some of the adjustments his quarterback made from the first week to the second. 

"This is going to be fun," the coach said, per the Chicago Tribune's Rich Campbell. "I'm excited for our future together."

As the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes II tears up the league with 10 touchdown passes through two weeks, some disappointment has to set in, since the Bears chose Trubisky eight picks before Mahomes came off the board. The Bears quarterback has nine touchdown passes through 14 contests. 

Right now, it's rather obvious which side of the ball and which performer is driving the Bears toward an improvement over last year's 5-11 record, and it's not the offense nor Trubisky. 

"This defense has some really good football players on it—they can win on defense," Urlacher said, per Lazerus. "I think that's very apparent. I think Coach Nagy knows that."

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @brentsobleski.