Chicago Bears Quarterback Battles: Mitch Trubisky versus Josh Allen

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

Win-Loss Record

Just like against Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, Trubisky finds himself leading Josh Allen in the win-loss department over the last two seasons. Trubisky has finished with a 19-10 record during that span compared to Allen who has gone 15-12. Unlike Mayfield and Darnold, Allen has a playoff appearance from 2019. Both Trubisky and Allen are 0-1 in the playoffs.

However, as stated, we need to point out that a win-loss record cannot fall strictly on the quarterback’s shoulders. The Bills defense has been nearly as good as the Chicago Bears over the last two years. In 2018 the Bears were first in Defensive DVOA and the Bills were second. The Bills were sixth in 2019 and the Bears were eighth. Yet Trubisky walked away with a better record. The win-loss aspect means more in this comparison than the Darnold and Mayfield ones.

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. In comparison, Allen has a 78.2 quarterback rating.

When we look at the rushing stats and dive into QBR, Trubisky once again comes out on top. I was actually surprised to see how low Allen’s QBR was over the last two years based on how many rushing touchdowns and yards he has over his first two years. However, his passing stats are clearly that abysmal that it brings his total down. Allen finished with a QBR of 47.3 in 2019 and 49.8 in 2018 for an average of 48.6.

Trubisky on the other hand 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. Which quarterback will we see in 2020? I’ll still give the edge to Trubisky on this one though.

Looking at the win-loss record which seems more important in this case since both teams had great defenses and where each quarterback finished in both quarterback rating and QBR, Trubisky wins this grouping.