People will look at the stats Mitch Trubisky put up in Minnesota and claim he had an average game. Sure going 18-for-26 for 163 is not in line with the video game numbers some QBs are putting up these days, but that doesn’t tell anywhere close to the full story. Keep in mind a few things before passing judgment.
They were playing the #3 pass defense in the NFL. Allen Robinson, his #1 receiver was already out with a rib injury. Then over the course of the game, his #2 and #3 targets in Anthony Miller and Taylor Gabriel both left with injuries as well. For him to play mistake-free like that in itself was impressive.
Yet it goes much deeper. Trubisky was instrumental on two of the teams’ decisive touchdown drives, delivering pinpoint passes from the pocket with the precision a veteran NFL quarterback is expected to make. The first was set up by an absolute dime to Taylor Gabriel for 40 yards to reach the Vikings one-yard line, allowing Jordan Howard to punch it in.
Mitch Trubisky saved his best for the final moments though
As great as that was, the young Bears quarterback would save his most impressive drive of the game and maybe the entire season for late. Getting the ball with 1:51 left in the 3rd quarter, Trubisky engineered a soul-crushing drive that covered 75 yards in 16 plays, chewing up over nine minutes of clock in the process.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
He completed four passes on the drive. Three of them were conversions on 3rd and long. He also converted a 3rd and 5 with a 12-yard scrambled. Then, as the unselfish person he’s been all year, he gave the ball to Tarik Cohen for a 4-yard touchdown that made it 19-10. Then for good measure, he completed a pass to Nick Kwiatkoski for a two-point conversion.
It was the kind of drive that showed Trubisky’s patience, precision and ability to play under pressure. Keep in mind the Vikings had just scored to make it 13-10 prior to him stepping on the field. The crowd was rocking and the stadium deafening. Then, like any great quarterback would, he systematically silenced them like the “pretty boy assassin” he is.
