Mitch Trubisky said after the game on Sunday that he’d been feeling it in practice all week. The preparation was good. His throws with the receivers were on point. He liked the game plan and the playbook had been scaled back to help him play faster. Everything was geared up for him having a big day against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yet not a single person in that building or watching at home expected what happened.
Trubisky fired five touchdown passes in the first half alone, raining death on a reeling Bucs defense with no mercy. Not only did he finish with six TD passes on the afternoon, but he also had three carries for 53 yards. He was far and away the best player on the field. An incredible statement considering it was shared with Khalil Mack.
There are so many reasons to feel excited about this performance. It was the first true glimpse of the promise Trubisky showed coming out of North Carolina last year. His dual-threat capability and accurate passing mixed with all those weapons? Scary. Combine that with one of the best defenses in football and this team can start thinking playoffs.
Beyond that, it’s time to explain just how momentous Trubisky’s display was.
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Mitch Trubisky is first Bears QB to post 5+ TD passes in Super Bowl era
Plenty of teams complain about their quarterback ineptitude over the years, but none of them can understand what the Bears have gone through. They’ve only had one Pro Bowl season out of that season in the entire Super Bowl era, and that was Jim McMahon in 1985 when he lit up the stat sheet for 2,392 yards, 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The point is the benchmark of excellence for QB play in this city is drastically lower than any other these days. Nowhere is that clearer than the fact that no Bears quarterback had thrown for at least five touchdowns in a game since the Super Bowl era began in 1966. To put that in perspective, 152 times a quarterback threw five or more in a game since that year. Only one came from a Bear, and that’s Trubisky.
Last 6-TD game by a Bears QB was 69 years ago
The NFL has been around for a long time, and the Bears are one of its oldest franchises. Once upon a time Chicago actually saw great quarterback play on a consistent basis. Ray Buivid threw for five touchdowns in the 1937 season finale against Detroit. Sid Luckman bombarded the Giants on a cold November day in 1943 for a still-record seven TDs.
The last time this happened though came six years later when Johnny Lujack, the man who was supposed to be the heir apparent to Luckman, tossed six touchdowns against the Cardinals in the season finale. That was 69 years ago. That’s how long it took for a Bears QB to do it again, which is just mind-boggling to think about.
It was the highest-rated passing performance in Bears history
Simply throwing so many touchdowns was incredible, but people need to understand how efficient the game was for Trubisky. He didn’t throw a single interception all afternoon. Luckman had one during his iconic performance and Lujack had three during his. Trubisky emerged with a 154.6 passer rating, which is just shy of perfection at 158.3.
In fact, this was the rating a Bears quarterback has ever received in a game where they started and finished. Luckman had a 135.42 mark for his game. Erik Kramer had a 131.1 rating against the Rams in 1995. Billy Wade went for 136.1 against the Colts in 1963. Rex Grossman, of all people, had a 148.0 rating against Detroit in 2006.
Yet the man who came the closest was Jay Cutler. His 151.0 rating in 2015 against the Rams was as close to flawless as Bears fans had seen in ages. They thought he was the pinnacle of quarterback play in Chicago at that point. Not anymore.
