Chicago Bears Quarterback Battles: Mitchell Trubisky versus Sam Darnold

Trubisky vs. Darnold: Accuracy

Completion Percentage

Sam Darnold had a 64.9 completion percentage in college yet has struggled to find that type of accuracy in the NFL. Darnold has completed 512 of 855 pass attempts for a completion percentage of 59.9. Trubisky on the other hand has been more accurate than many give him credit for as he has a 64.7 completion percentage on 950 attempts. Clearly Trubisky wins this category, but we need to look at a few more things before we crown him as more accurate.

For example, we need to consider the depth of the target and depth of completed passes. If Trubisky is more accurate but only completing three yard passes on average compared to Darnold who is completing 12 yard passes on average then it makes more sense for Darnold’s completion percentage to be lower. Here are how the numbers breakdown.

In 2018, Trubisky averaged 8.8 air yards per intended pass attempt (IAY/PA) but only 6.3 air yards per completion (CAY/Cmp). Darnold, on the other hand, averaged 9.3 air yards per intended pass attempt and averaged 6.7 air yards per completion. 2019 was not as good for either quarterback. Trubisky dropped to 8.0 IAY/PA and 5.3 CAY/Cmp while Darnold dropped to 8.2 and 5.7.

What about the talent of who each quarterback is throwing to though? If we look at the advanced stats, Darnold saw a drop percentage of 4.9 in 2018 and 6.0 in 2019. Trubisky’s receivers were elite in 2018 with a 2.6 percent drop rate and 5.5 percent in 2019. This evens the playing field quite a bit here.

When we look at the bad throw percentage, Darnold threw 19.3 percent of his passes poorly in 2018 and 17.8 percent in 2019. Trubisky’s poor throw percentage was 18.4 percent both seasons. With the numbers so close, Trubisky is still barely my winner here.