Mitchell Trubisky remains his own harshest critic

Chicago Bears: Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky remains his own harshest critic, which is not a major shock to head coach Matt Nagy. Nagy said Wednesday he wants Trubisky not to dwell on individual plays that don't work and to leave failed drives in the past to avoid carrying the weight into more important spots in the game. One area in which Trubisky is excelling is throwing on the move. Nagy said changing the launch point is elevating Trubisky's comfort level and confidence. "Mitch does a really good job," Nagy said. "He did it in college. He was really good outside the pocket. And so we need to be able to figure out ways to do that and where we feel it's advantageous for the offense and I know he's comfortable in that."

Detroit Lions: Matt Patricia's NFL voyage began with the New England Patriots as a quality control coach in 2004, when his best friend on the support staff of Bill Belichick was an offensive assistant. They'll convene again Sunday night at Ford Field when first-time head coach Patricia goes for his first win by trying to stop that assistant -- current Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. "Josh and I are really close," Patricia said. "I think the two of us leaned on each other quite a bit, helped each other out a lot as young coaches and developing into wherever we are right now. ... Utmost respect for him." Even McDaniels expects a few surprises from Patricia. "He'll keep you off balance. There's definitely an element of spinning the wheel with Matt," McDaniels told Masslive.com.

Green Bay Packers: Cornerback Kevin King's groin injury kicked the door open for the Minnesota Vikings' fourth-quarter rally last week, and King is a longshot to return this week at Washington. King, 23, was a first-round pick in 2017 -- his season ended early due to a shoulder injury -- and helped frustrate Kirk Cousins through three quarters in Sunday's game. Without King, the Packers are going to need to be creative. "We probably didn't handle Kevin King's injury very well," McCarthy said. "We just weren't as detailed down the stretch. It was obviously an ability for them to extend drives, and they hit the big play there on the (75-yard Stefon Diggs) touchdown, too."

Minnesota Vikings: Settling the kicker position might finally be checked off of general manager Rick Spielman's to-do list. The Vikings parted with kicker Daniel Carlson in what head coach Mike Zimmer described as an easy decision after Carlson failed to deliver in overtime at Green Bay. His replacement happens to be the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history, Dan Bailey. Bailey was on the street only because the Dallas Cowboys opted not to pay his $4 million salaries and released him Sept. 1. "I wanted to go somewhere that had an opportunity to win and be a part of an organization that's right there and right on the brink of having a lot of success," Bailey said Wednesday. "When this situation came up, it fit the bill perfectly. I can't complain about eight games out of the year inside (at U.S. Bank Stadium); that was a plus."