5 signs of growth from Mitch Trubisky
Fewer Sacks
With more scrambles, we have seen fewer sacks. What is impressive is that Trubisky is still under pressure as much, if not more than usual. Many fans will say that lack of sacks is due to the defense, but it really is not true.
Trubisky faced pressure 24% of his snaps to start 2020 and took a sack 29% of the time he saw pressure. After being benched, he saw pressure 27% of the time. Yes, the pass protection has been better against these defenses.
Still, the difference is that Trubisky takes a sack 19% of the time he faces pressure, nearly 10% lower than when he was benched. To be fair, that number is only slightly down from the 21% number he has for his career.
Still, PFF grades sacks and places blame on individual players. They often blame the quarterback if the offensive line is not of fault. For example, Trubisky was sacked 38 times in 2019, but 17 were on him. In 2020, Trubisky has been sacked 17 times. However, just 1 has been blamed on Trubisky.
From 44% of the sacks being on him, to 6% of the sacks being on him is remarkable. This goes into what we have mentioned with quicker, shorter passes. Still, these passes are more accurate and better decisions.
There are reasons and context for everything. It is still fair to think that long term, Mitch Trubisky is not the answer. At the same time, it is fair to admit that he has improved over the past five weeks, regardless of competition.