Bears coach Matt Nagy wanted his team to appreciate what it accomplished — but also the sting of what it hadn’t — after Cody Parkey’s kick hit a defender’s fingertip, the left upright and the crossbar before bouncing onto the overgrown turf of a hushed, heartbroken stadium.
“I want them to feel it,” a somber Nagy said, sitting in the bowels of Soldier Field after the 16-15 playoff loss to the Eagles two years ago this week. “I want our coaches to feel it ...
“It’s okay to let it hurt a little bit. But we’ve got to use this now to be better.