Mitch Trubisky has a lot of proving to do. At least that’s the truth in the eyes of many Chicago Bears fans. He’s a #2 overall pick. The team traded up to get him. He took over for the departed Jay Cutler who’d spent eight seasons working his way into the hearts of many. After his lackluster rookie season, people were ready to write him off.
Now here he is. He’s thrown for 15 touchdowns and six interceptions while on pace to be the first Bears QB to ever go over 4,000 yards passing. He’s also at 296 yards rushing with two touchdowns and has his team 4-3 leading the division with the halfway point of the season almost at hand. One would think people might warm to him over something like that.
Yet they resist. Why? A primary explanation is he’s not doing good enough when in comparison to other young quarterbacks. The name dropped most often is Patrick Mahomes over in Kansas City who got drafted just a few spots after Trubisky did in 2017. His start to the year has been crazy with 26 touchdown passes in eight games. It’s been a torrid pace and the NFL world is lapping it up.
There is an explanation hidden beneath the surface though. One that helps to ease some of the criticism on Trubisky for not doing the same.
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Mahomes has benefitted from far more YAC than Mitch Trubisky
Yards after the catch. It’s not a stat that’s brought up too often but it can be one all important to the success of an offense. Quarterbacks are credited so often for getting tons of yards and touchdowns. What many tend to forget is they’re helped out by talented teammates who do a ton of the work after they get the football.
The Chiefs are a prime example of this. So far in 2018, they rank 2nd in the NFL with 1,315 yards after the catch. In other words, a full 52% of Mahomes’ passing yardage has come after the ball is delivered. The Bears sit at 24th with 852, or 46.9% of Trubisky’s total yardage. Seven of Mahomes touchdown passes have gone for over 20 yards. Several of them went like this.
By comparison, the Bears have just four TD pass plays of 20 yards or more. Just one of them featured any kind of meaningful yards after the catch. It was last Sunday against the Jets when Tarik Cohen took a screen 70 yards to the house. He’s pretty much been the only player on the team capable of serious YAC. Others like Taylor Gabriel, Allen Robinson, or Trey Burton haven’t delivered on that.
This should help illustrate a reality people continue to brush off. Mahomes, while a great player, has a better offense around him than Trubisky does. It includes three Pro Bowlers in their primes. Trubisky has two and they come with asterisks. One went back in 2015 before tearing his ACL a year later. The other is a power running back who’s never been a serious receiving threat.
Maybe it’s time to ease up on the kid and appreciate what he’s been able to do thus far.
