Chicago Bears Quarterback Battles: Mitchell Trubisky versus Baker Mayfield

Trubisky vs. Mayfield: Win-Loss, Quarterback Rating and QBR

Win-Loss Record

Just like against Sam Darnold, Trubisky finds himself ahead of Mayfield in the win-loss department in the last two seasons. Trubisky comes out in the lead with a 19-10 record compared to Mayfield who has gone 12-17. Just as I said in the Darnold piece, we need to point out that a win-loss record cannot fall strictly on the quarterback’s shoulders. The Chicago Bears defense played a big part in the Bears wins in both 2018 and 2019. The Browns defense was awful in 2019. The team’s Defensive DVOA ranking was 22nd compared to 2018 when the team was 12th.

Quarterback Rating and QBR

Realize that quarterback rating and QBR are not the same things. QBR takes rushing yards into account whereas quarterback rating does not. When we look at the last two years, Trubisky has a quarterback rating of 88.7. Despite the narrative, he cannot read defenses, he makes poor decisions and he just cannot hit open receivers, his quarterback rating is good enough to be a middle-of-the-pack starting quarterback. To compare, Mayfield has a career 85.9 percent rating.

When we look at the rushing stats and dive into QBR, Trubisky once again comes out on top. However, his inconsistency could push people towards siding with Mayfield. Trubisky had an amazing 71.0 rating, which was third-best in the NFL in 2018. However, that number dropped drastically in 2019 to 39.5. This averages out to 55.25.

Mayfield’s two seasons average out to 51.8, but the two years are nearly identical as opposed to Trubisky who had one fantastic season and one awful season. This is difficult to judge. We will throw out the win-loss records. Trubisky is ahead in quarterback rating and barely wins the overall average in QBR.

Mitchell Trubisky wins, but barely.