Mitch Trubisky has some truly rotten luck. It’s one thing to be a draft bust. That in itself is bad. What makes it so much worse in his case is he happened to go in the same draft as two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He’ll forever be known as the guy the Chicago Bears chose over two possible future Hall of Famers when it’s all said and done.
So one can imagine the 26-year old was not looking forward to this week. Not only is his team in a death spiral, having lost six games in a row. He also has to prepare for a game against one of those very quarterbacks in Deshaun Watson. A team the Bears reportedly didn’t even bother to meet with in person over three years ago.
Trubisky experienced this movie once already.
Last year Patrick Mahomes came into Soldier Field and crushed the Bears 26-3, famously counting his fingers up to 10 after a touchdown. No doubt signifying the pick he went at in the draft. Trubisky had a rough night by contrast with barely 150 yards passing. There can be little doubt Watson is anxious to send a message of his own and might be arriving at the perfect time with the Bears defense having surrendered 68 points the past two weeks.
Trubisky would no doubt prefer to just focus on the game. Except it doesn’t work that way. He was inevitably asked about the continued fallout from that draft. While his answer toed the line in terms of respect towards Watson and Mahomes. At the same time it was fairly obvious he was tired of talking about it.
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Bears QB Mitch Trubisky was asked if it’s frustrating to keep talking about 2017 draft story lines.
(Feel free to ratio this, because all that matters is his play on the field, etc., but Trubisky has always handled these questions well, and that can stand for something!) pic.twitter.com/cW9VHLT0Gd
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) December 9, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5joubzFvRcc&ab_channel=ChicagoBears
Mitch Trubisky has four games left to somehow save himself
Since returning the Bears offense has at least shown more life. He’s given them a bit of a spark. That reflects well on him. However, Trubisky still hasn’t erased most of the issues that led him to get benched in the first place. Namely the ugly turnovers at the worst possible times. See the strip-sack against Detroit last week for a reminder.
It’s doubtful a win against the 4-8 Houston Texans will do much to change his narrative. On the other hand, finding a way to sweep the final four games to reach 9-7 and maybe the playoffs? That is something worth fighting for. Something that might yet keep his stock alive going into free agency next year. So yeah he has plenty of reasons to be motivated in this game.
History shows not to count on it happening.
Mitch Trubisky is a good kid who has performed well in high-pressure games before but he always seems to deliver a killer moment to his team at some point. Usually from him trying to do too much and throwing the ball into tight coverage or him not securing the ball against an oncoming rush. It can almost be called routine at this point. Maybe the soft remaining schedule helps him out, but good luck hasn’t really been his thing since entering the NFL.