Chicago Bears should not be concerned with another team

The Chicago Bears may not have everything riding on Week 17. That isn’t the case for fellow NFC teams. However, the Bears shouldn’t care one bit.

I’ll make this simple. Head coach Matt Nagy knows his Chicago Bears better than just about anyone else. Those players are his family. He’s made it crystal clear this season that, right away, his locker room will be a family-type culture.

Why does this matter going into this weekend?

Here’s the deal. The Minnesota Vikings absolutely have to have this game — unless the Philadelphia Eagles lose. Either way, the Bears aren’t necessarily impacted in a great way on Sunday afternoon.

The only way that could change is if the Los Angeles Rams somehow lose to the San Francisco 49ers. If, and only if that happens, the Bears could jump to the no. 2 seed with a win over Minnesota.

Much has been made about Nagy and his strategy going into Sunday. Regardless of your opinion on playing or resting his starters, Nagy’s opinion is the only one that matters — and I think he’s right.

Nagy told the media this week that he is going out there to win the game against the Vikings. There will be no argument made. He said that the only way he would even think about pulling his starters is if the Rams were up by an enormous amount at halftime, and then he’d discuss the thought of sitting some guys after the half.

Back to Nagy knowing his players.

I think he is a darn good football coach. He has done an excellent job building relationships within the locker room, and for that reason, he can make the right decision come Sunday. What I mean by that is, if halftime comes and things look out of hand for the Rams and 49ers, maybe he rests some guys who he knows are a little tired.

If there are some players who may need some rest going into the playoffs, then Nagy should make it happen. Only he knows whether or not those players can still flourish in the postseason after having only played a half of football the prior week.

On the flip side, Nagy may know that there are some guys who play well when in rhythm. Therefore, if someone like Mitch Trubisky is in the conversation, the thought of playing him the entire game may intrigue me, if I was coach Nagy.

We all saw how rusty Trubisky looked after coming back from his shoulder injury. Maybe he’s one of the guys who needs to continue to play through the final quarter on Sunday, regardless of the Vikings score?

Or, maybe that rust was a sign that he wasn’t fully healthy. The thing is, none of us truly know that. As fans, though, we should know that we ought to trust the head coach this season. Nagy has proven that, even as a first-year head coach, he’s worth buying into.

If he decides to play his starters the entire game, even though the Rams are up big, then so be it. He wants to win the football game — that is the goal, of course, right?

If Nagy figures it is best to rest some, or all or his starters at some point, then we have to choose to stick behind him. Like I said, he knows what’s best for this team — not you or I, not the media, not the “experts,” or anyone else for that matter. Put your trust in the head coach, and let’s watch these Bears get after a Super Bowl. How ’bout it?