LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Without a game to prepare for this weekend, the Bears offense spent the bye week on the practice field and in the meeting room figuratively staring into a full-length mirror. 

“We went back and looked at a lot of the stuff we were doing, what we did through four games, and some stuff we need to work on technique-wise,” offensive coordinator Ron Turner said Thursday at Halas Hall.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler ranks 13th in the NFL with an 89.3 passer rating.

The Bears rank seventh in the NFL in points per game at 26.3, having increased their output each week from 15 to 17 to 25 to 48. The offense is 22nd in total yards, 26th rushing and 19th passing.

“There are some things we can do better and at times we have to execute better,” Turner said. “At times, I have to help them and give them a better call. There are some things system-wise and scheme-wise that looking back on it I wish I would have done a little differently, which usually is the case.”

In his first four games with the Bears, Jay Cutler has completed 83 of 129 passes (64.3 percent) for 901 yards with 8 touchdowns, five interceptions and an 89.3 passer rating.

In his last three starts, Cutler has posted passer ratings of 104.7, 126.4 and 100.4, becoming the first Bears quarterback to record triple-digit ratings in three straight games since Rudy Bukich in 1964. During that span, Cutler has completed 71 percent of his passes for 624 yards with 7 TDs and 1 interception.

The Bears’ young wide receivers have thrived early in the season, with Earl Bennett (15 receptions for 200 yards and no touchdowns), Johnny Knox (14-190-2) and Devin Hester (14-189-2) combining to catch 43 passes for 579 yards and 4 TDs.

After a slow start, running back Matt Forte busted loose in last Sunday’s win over the Lions, rushing for a season-high 121 yards on 12 carries, including a career-long 61-yard run and a 37-yard TD.

Although the Bears have been outscored 31-7 in the first quarter, they’ve outscored their opponents 68-27 in the second half. The offense has performed especially well late, rallying for winning scores against the Steelers and Seahawks before tallying two fourth-quarter TD against the Lions to turn last Sunday’s game into a rout.

“I’ve been pleased with the attitude, the character, the ability to hang in there, handle adversity, come from behind; all those kinds of things,” Turner said. “And we’ve got some guys making some plays.

“We’re doing a lot of good things through four games. The next step is to do them more consistently and put it all together. We haven’t put everything together yet in the run game, the pass game, the short-control, high-percentage pass game with the big plays, and that’s an area that I think we need to improve on as we go that we will, making more of the big plays down the field. I think that will come as we continue to progress in the system.”