It’s crazy how fast a narrative can shift in the space of a month. Back in November, everybody was done with Mitch Trubisky. His inconsistencies hadn’t gone away. Matt Nagy benched him for Nick Foles. Everybody thought it was over and done with. Then after the team lost four-straight and Foles got hurt? Just like that Trubisky was back in the lineup. Expectations were low. What could he do for such a lifeless offense?
Perform a miracle apparently. Since re-entering the lineup, the Bears offense has never scored less than 25 points in a game over the past five weeks. A staggering run for this franchise and its long history of offensive ineptitude. Trubisky, for his part, has 10 touchdown passes and four interceptions in that span. Probably the most efficient stretch of his NFL career. It’s led many to wonder.
Has the 26-year old finally flipped the switch?
Some think he has. They believe the benching served a greater purpose than expected, waking Trubisky up to his reality. Others though are cautioning against such thoughts. The QB has been aided by two factors. One is a simplified offensive scheme built around running the football and heavy doses of play action. The other being a stretch of games against lackluster defenses like Detroit (31st), Houston (30th), Minnesota (27th), and Jacksonville (32nd).
How can the Bears justify giving him an extension with frankly incomplete data? That is probably why NFL insider Mike Garafolo is hearing what he’s hearing. On NFL Network he reported that the previous games basically meant nothing. If Trubisky is going to prove to people he has indeed arrived, he’ll have to do it against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
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From @gmfb Weekend: Mitch Trubisky has made a late push to be the #Bears' QB in 2021 with stats thay are comparable to other playoff QBs. He needs to cap it with a strong performance against the #Packers tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/qXWtYzdMbJ
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 3, 2021
Mitch Trubisky is decidedly below-average vs. Green Bay
It isn’t a surprise Bears ownership would take such a stance. Green Bay is the class of the division and has been the measuring stick for Chicago going back decades. Especially the quarterbacks. If you can’t perform well against them, why should anybody think you can perform well against the best in the NFL? Trubisky should know this by now. The Packers have owned him for the majority of his career.
He’s played them six times to this point. Trubisky holds a 1-5 record in those games and has posted a passer rating above 90 just twice. The rest were 74.7 or worse. He’s also thrown five interceptions and fumbled six times against them. Suffice to say the quarterback has almost never had his best stuff when playing Green Bay. A trend that has held true for most Bears signal-callers.
Will it be any different on Sunday?
A lot of people have a hard time believing it. The Packers have the 6th-best pass defense in the NFL this year. If they are able to slow down the Bears running game and force it into the hands of Mitch Trubisky? Everybody can pretty much predict what the results will be. This game will either be a validation of what people already know about him or confirmation that he may actually have turned a page in his career.