Chicago Bears: Breakdown of Mitch Trubisky’s fourth-quarter comeback

Mitch Trubisky helped lead the Chicago Bears to an unthinkable victory

Mitch Trubisky has a long way to go to fully silence his doubters in 2020, but he made great strides in his fourth-quarter comeback performance against the Detroit Lions in Week 1. Chicago Bears fans are now up in arms about the performance and the debate continues all throughout social media.

Trubisky, along with the Chicago defense, led the Chicago Bears back from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit in Detroit. He may not have quite put the NFL world on notice, but Trubisky made throw after throw in leading three touchdown drives to end the game. Trubisky went 8/10 on pass attempts and threw three touchdowns.

There were certainly other circumstances in the fourth quarter that led to the Bears’ win, including big plays from the Chicago Bears’ star defenders (a sack by Akiem Hicks and tipped-ball interception by Kyle Fuller) and some key mistakes by the Lions (a Matt Prater field goal that hit the upright and the drop of the game-winning touchdown by rookie D’Andre Swift).

Even with those factors coming into play, plays needed to be made and throws completed. Mitch Trubisky had one of his best stretches in recent memory to lead the Bears to their first opening day victory since 2013.

Mitch Trubisky found his groove

Things were looking bleak for the Chicago Bears down 23-6 and Trubisky struggling. There are some reasonable qualifiers that Trubisky doubters will bring up, including going against a weak Lions’ defense with a depleted secondary. Detroit was without corners Justin Coleman and Desmond Trufant by the fourth quarter and third-overall pick Jeff Okudah missed the game entirely.

What is important to note however is that the Lions’ replacements provided decent coverage and Trubisky was accurate in hitting the throwing windows that were given to him.

The quarter started with a must-have fourth and one from the Lions’ 10-yard-line. The play call from Coach Matt Nagy showed the clever offensive movement that gave the Bears spacing throughout much of the final frame. Mitch Trubisky faked the hand-off to David Montgomery before pitching the ball to Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson took the play wide and used his speed to get passed the first-down marker.

A couple of plays later, Mitch Trubisky made the first of several great reads and throws during the Chicago Bears’ comeback. He recognized the pre-snap matchup that tight end Jimmy Graham had with a smaller defensive back. Trubisky threw a fade for an easy pitch-and-catch touchdown, his first of the day.

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The Bears’ next drive exposed some of the weaknesses in Mitch Trubisky’s game. Conventional passing plays without an open first read often result in disaster for Chicago’s signal-caller. That has been the case throughout his career. Whether out of shotgun or a traditional drop back from under center, the offense stalled and was forced to punt.

The Chicago Bears did something only four other teams have done

After the Chicago Bears made another stop though, Trubisky was back on the field in control. Early in the drive with great protection from the offensive line, Trubisky had the chance to go through all his reads before throwing to a now-open Anthony Miller. He hit Miller again on the next play with a throw towards the sideline. What Mitch Trubisky excelled at all fourth quarter was hitting receivers in motion and leading them away from trailing defensive backs.

He found Graham on the same drive while rolling to his right, again taking advantage of the man-to-man matchup that his tight end had. Mitch rolled to his left on the next play and hit Javon Wims in the back corner of the end zone for his second touchdown. It was a perfect throw into a small window, all while moving to his left side which puts a right-handed thrower in an awkward position to make an accurate throw.

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The Mitch Trubisky magic did not stop there. On the ensuing drive, down three points, the Chicago offense did not settle for the tying field goal. Setup with great field position off the Fuller interception, Mitch Trubisky gave the Chicago Bears the lead with a beautiful sideline pass to Miller.

The 27-yard touchdown featured a great grab by Miller – make no mistake about it – but the ball from Trubisky was textbook. He threw just high enough over the cornerback while giving Miller the chance to catch it inbounds. Mitch Trubisky stepped confidently into the throw and beat strong coverage by the defender.

Trubisky missed on a similar play earlier in the quarter, throwing the ball too low for Allen Robinson to have a chance at catching. He did not make the same mistake here. Mitch Trubisky was fantastic throwing outside the numbers all fourth quarter, in fact, something he has struggled with at times in career – especially on the left side of the field.

There is a reason the Chicago Bears were in a steep hole to begin the fourth quarter, but Mitch Trubisky showed something with his performance late at Ford Field. He led the Chicago offense confidently under pressure. Mitch Trubisky certainly has a lot of good plays to build on. For Bears fans, let’s just hope this version of Trubisky shows up earlier this weekend against the Giants.