The idea that Mitch Trubisky would be better with a bad offensive line forgets why Trubisky was benched in the first place
As the Chicago Bears offensive line has continued to flop, and Nick Foles has looked like a statue in the pocket, many analysts have proclaimed that Mitch Trubisky is a better fit for the offensive line, given his ability to move.
However, while the offensive line is not as bad today as it has been with Mitch Trubisky under center, Trubisky has played under some bad offensive lines. Even looking at just this season, one of the biggest reasons in which Trubisky was benched was because of how poorly he was playing under pressure.
According to PFF, Trubisky was under pressure on 24.5% of his dropbacks in 2020. 29.2% of the time Trubisky faced pressure, he was sacked. On the other hand, Foles is under pressure 34.9% of the time this season, a 10% increase. That is justified due to the offensive line injuries. However, he is getting sacked just 15.1% of the time when he is under pressure.
Trubisky led the NFL in percent of sacks taken under pressure and was one of three players who had a rate of sacks taken than they did percent of dropbacks under pressure. The other two are Dwayne Haskins, who was benched, and Jimmy Garoppolo who played hurt.
On the other hand, Foles ranks 16th in percent of sacks taken and ranks 11th in the difference of snaps under pressure, and sacks under pressure.
Foles is not great under pressure, but while Trubisky can move better, he makes much more mental mistakes than Foles in these fast situations.
You can go back to last year where Trubisky has a bigger sample of snaps taken under pressure. He was under pressure 32% of the time last year, which is not off from Foles this year. However, 20.3% of the time he takes a sack, which is 5% more often than Foles.
Beyond that, Trubisky had a 45.9% completion rate under pressure last year and a 55.2 passer rating. Foles has a 55.7% completion rate and 72.5 passer rating under pressure. In 2020, Trubisky had a 23.1% completion rate and 39.6 passer rating, in case you forgot why he was benched.
The argument that he can move better is thrown out by him taking more sacks, and while he did have more rushing ability, his concerning inability to take off and run also resulted in his benching.
There is a graphic highlighting the offensive differences between Trubisky and Foles. When looking deeper, you can see Trubisky was worse under pressure, he just was not under pressure often.
Beyond that, the Bears first three opponents rank 17, 18, and 22nd in defensive efficiency per Football Outsiders.
Since then, the Bears have faced the 3rd, 1st, 25th, 9th, 8th, and 20th defenses. The 25th ranked Panthers was a win for the Bears, and while the 20th ranked Titans was a loss, it does not account for Alex Bars, Arlington Hambright and Rashaad Coward on the offensive line.
Mitch Trubisky had Cody Whitehair, James Daniels, and Bobby Massie against similar defenses and struggled. Foles has faced four top ten defenses and won against the Panthers.
If the offensive line can get healthy and get cohesion, the Bears do not play any more top ten defenses and could have more success. However, Mitch Trubisky is not going to be the answer. We have seen him under pressure, and it is not what people keep saying it is in theory. It sounds a lot better on the radio than it does being played out.