Fate has a funny way of playing out the stories in the NFL. Mitch Trubisky thought he’d earned the job properly after the Chicago Bears held their competition in training camp with Nick Foles. He looked good enough in practice. He did everything asked of him. That should’ve earned him a legitimate shot to finish what he started back in 2018, right?
Matt Nagy had other ideas. After a rough first half against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3, a bad interception in the 3rd quarter was the final straw for the Bears head coach. He pulled Trubisky from the game and inserted Foles. The veteran threw three touchdowns down the stretch to pull off a huge comeback. From there, the decision was made. Foles was the starter. Trubisky went to the bench.
The 26-year old QB told reporters on Friday the move was a total shock to him.
Mitch Trubisky's full answer when asked how hard it was to be benched three weeks into the season: pic.twitter.com/OZ9Up7C3gD
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) November 27, 2020
Trubisky wasn’t alone. Plenty of people were surprised by the move. While he wasn’t playing a good game at the time, he’d gone 2-0 as a starter. He’d even led a huge comeback in Week 1 over the Lions. Why wouldn’t Nagy give him an opportunity to do the same again? This has led to the theory that the head coach never wanted to start Trubisky but had no choice since Foles wasn’t ready. He merely waited for the right opportunity.
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When that interception happened, the head coach had his casus belli. How ironic is it that now Trubisky comes back not only trying to save his own job but that of the man who declared his time in Chicago over just two months ago?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goRioQCuiiQ&ab_channel=ChicagoBears
Mitch Trubisky has a chip on his shoulder now
The way he spoke to reporters for the first time hinted that much. He didn’t feel his benching was justified at the time. While Nagy has continued to praise the QB publicly, it appears those feelings aren’t reciprocated. A source told SM that Trubisky lost all trust in the head coach because of how the benching happened. Whatever chemistry they had when the year began is long gone.
When he takes the field on Sunday, he won’t be playing to save Nagy’s job. He’ll be playing for himself and his teammates. Not exactly a comfortable situation with such a pivotal game just over 48 hours away. The Green Bay Packers have no fear of Mitch Trubisky. They’ve proven that the past two times they faced him.
Can he really flip the script?
It’ll take one hell of a performance. The Packers are 6-1 against the Bears on Sunday Night Football. Trubisky has struggled for the most part in primetime games. Nagy’s teams are also 0-2 coming off a bye week. So one can understand why there’s not a lot of optimism going into this one. Especially given how putrid the offense has been for months now. Trubisky has to overcome a mountain of doubts.
Fans are hopeful he can do it. He truly is their last hope to save what has become another disappointing season.