Mitchell Trubisky should be the Chicago Bears Week 1 starter
The day is September 13, 2020. Fans are gathering mostly at home due to a pandemic that will either drastically limit stadium capacity or remove fans from viewing the game live altogether. The Chicago Bears find themselves in the Motor City getting ready to face their divisional foe the Detroit Lions. As the teams run out of the tunnel, one of Nick Foles or Mitchell Trubisky will be leading the charge for the Bears offense. Mitchell Trubisky is the logical choice here.
Before we get into the reasons why it should be Trubisky over Foles to start the season, let us rewind and see how we got here in the first place. In 2017, Ryan Pace fell in love with the hard work, dedication and overall attitude of Trubisky. Many complain about Pace’s observational skills regarding Trubisky, but it is easy to see what Pace saw in the young quarterback.
Trubisky’s 2016 stats at the University of North Carolina were spot on as a player who could turn into something great in the NFL. The problem is that he only did it for one year and we had no way of knowing if it was a fluke or not. After all, he could not even outplay the guy ahead of him on North Carolina’s depth chart. That said, he ran the offense well and finished with 3,748 yards, 30 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
We should also note that Trubisky also saw time in the two seasons prior to his starting year. That film coupled with his junior year was enough to prove he has great athleticism and the ability to throw a football with the best of them. Injury concerns were a factor when it came to the idea of drafting Deshaun Watson in 2017 (even though that was my choice) and many believed Mahomes had a high ceiling but came with a low floor too in regards to risk.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but here we are and Trubisky has had a very inconsistent start to his NFL career. This is why Pace went out and traded for Nick Foles this offseason. Trubisky needed true competition and Foles has vast familiarity within the style of offense Matt Nagy runs along with prior relationships with Nagy, Bill Lazor and John DeFilippo — the pairing of Foles was a no-brainer.
Even with the addition of Foles this offseason and despite the inconsistencies in Trubisky’s first three seasons, the most obvious and logical option to start the NFL season is still Trubisky.