The Chicago Bears are doing something they’ve never done in franchise history. To date, the team has never followed a losing streak of six games or more with a winning streak of more than two games. They will have a chance to do that for the first time against the 1-13 Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday. Credit for this must be leveled at two men. Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky.
It’s hard to fathom even saying this. Everybody thought that partnership was dead and buried back in September. Nagy pulled the embattled 26-year old quarterback against the Atlanta Falcons for Nick Foles. A move everybody knew for sure was permanent. Nagy had grown tired of Trubisky’s inconsistent play and was just waiting for an excuse to move on.
Fate proved to have different plans.
Foles started off fine, leading the Bears to a comeback win over the Falcons and then delivering a huge upset of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, problems began to surface as the offensive line began to crumble. Foles’ started to struggle behind bad protection and eventually, it culminated in him being carted off against Minnesota before the bye week.
Just like that, Trubisky was back in the picture. Since returning, the quarterback has looked different. In four starts he’s completed 67.91% of his passes for 978 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions. Good for a 99.7 passer rating. The offense has scored 30 points or more in three-straight games.
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Nobody claims to be happier for him than Nagy himself. The head coach told Albert Breer of the MMQB that he told Trubisky the benching back in September wasn’t the end. In fact, it could end up being a new beginning.
“I mean, I absolutely love the kid,” Nagy said. “The conversation that I had with him when we ended up going with Nick was, ‘I know it sucks and I know it’s hard right now. But this could end up being one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to you. And I know that’s hard to understand.’
“There’s a lot of other people that would go in the tank and they’d be done. Not Mitchell. He’s used this as a positive. He’s making himself a better player, and he’s making us a better team, because he handled it the right way.”
Matt Nagy and Trubisky still need each other
Probably the most vital difference this time around is Nagy isn’t calling plays. It’s clearer than ever there was a disconnect between the two when that was the case. The head coach had a clear agenda in mind with his offense and Trubisky just didn’t fit what he was looking for. Turns out neither did Foles. So he decided to hand the call sheet to Bill Lazor who made significant adjustments, catering more to the quarterback’s strengths. His athleticism and ability to make plays on the move.
The results speak for themselves. Now despite their up and down relationship to this point, Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky are both fighting for their future. Nagy is trying to remain Bears head coach beyond 2020. Trubisky is auditioning for other NFL teams in free agency next year. Hell, he might even be playing his way into some kind of limited extension with Chicago.
It is amazing how fast narratives can shift in this league.
Two games remain. The Bears are 7-7. If they win both, there is a strong chance they’ll be in the playoffs for the second time in three years. The last head coach-quarterback combination to accomplish that feat? Mike Ditka and Jim Harbaugh in 1990 and 1991. Continuity at those two spots is hard to come by for this team. It’ll be interesting to see if they run it back in 2021.
