Mitch Trubisky has left his own mark on the Chicago Bears and fans
When you hear the name of Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky, the first thought that pops into your mind probably isn’t anything close to “good” or “successful.” In fact, most fans would have considered his time in Chicago a failure.
However, when you take a closer look at his performances, he wasn’t necessarily the guy to point the finger at these past few years as a scapegoat. Sure, he was extremely streaky and has had his fair share of awful throws, but statistically, he was a solid quarterback. The offensive struggles on this team were never stemming from the quarterback position; they started on the offensive line.
Just look at the running back position. Out on the field, David Montgomery looks like a top-10 tailback in the league, but his numbers would lead you to believe otherwise. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a guy with more impressive one-yard runs than number 32. He simply doesn’t have the time or space to produce good yardage at his position.
Rewind a couple of years and you’ve got an entirely different story. The 2018 season gave the Bears an offensive line that was unanimously ranked in the top-10 after the season. But that wouldn’t last. The next year, the offensive line went from great to terrible in a hurry. Most of the same guys were there, but for some reason, they just couldn’t find the same production that they had a year prior.
Moving forward to this season, the offensive line got even worse. In fact, almost every single part of this team got worse. There was a small regression from the defense, but that could partly be attributed to the offense not being able to stay on the field. Regardless, the defense has been good enough to get a win when the offense decides to play.
The Chicago Bears offense has been very different over the last few weeks
So what does this have to do with Trubisky? Trubisky won’t be anyone’s first option to play quarterback in 2021, but he has done a solid job when he was given the opportunity. In fact, Trubisky’s most valuable attribute has been his ability to step up when people begin to doubt him as a quarterback.
Since earning his starting spot back, he’s been extremely sharp under center. He made us realize what the difference is between a second overall pick at quarterback and Nick Foles at quarterback. Looking back a couple of months and seeing myself begging for Foles to take over now seems like one of the more idiotic takes of my life.
And that’s precisely why I’m glad we had Trubisky at quarterback for the Bears. He gave a stern reminder that the offensive issues can’t be the fault of a single guy. It’s not as simple as “Trubisky sucks.” You could have put Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady into this offense and their numbers would have been pedestrian at best.
The Chicago Bears’ chances of winning a Super Bowl with this roster and staff are in the rearview mirror, but we’ve grown as fans. Next time we have a young roster, we’ll hopefully treat them differently as a fanbase.