Chicago Bears fans have seen this scenario before. A head coach fighting for his job. A team reeling from a losing streak with no clear identity. Now they have to go into Lambeau Field against a Packers team that has pretty much owned them for most of the past three decades. It truly feels like this is a do-or-die game for Matt Nagy. So how incredibly fitting is it that he will probably look to Mitch Trubisky to save the day?
Everybody knows the story by now. Nagy held a competition in training camp for the starting QB job. Trubisky “won” and started the first three games of the season. However, after struggling in Atlanta, the coach benched him in favor of Nick Foles. That decision hasn’t worked out as planned with the veteran enduring some rough punishment behind an increasingly bad offensive line.
Now he is injured.
People have begun calling out to the team to do what must be done. They have to go back to Trubisky. If for no other reason then he can use his legs to compensate for the ongoing issues with this line. Foles was already slow. How much worse will it be now that he’s nursing a bad ankle? The truth is he probably should be benched anyway because he just isn’t playing well. Offensively there is zero life in this team.
Maybe Trubisky can provide them one. That is the hope anyway. The 26-year old is returning from an injury of his own to his throwing shoulder. It isn’t clear yet if he’ll have the green light but odds are he should. If he does play, he couldn’t ask for a better setup.
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Mitch Trubisky must know narratives can be rewritten
Things are different with the Bears franchise when they manage to beat the Packers. If for no other reason these days then it doesn’t happen often. That could actually serve to Trubisky’s advantage. Just imagine the tonal shift that would happen if this kid, benched two months ago and left for dead, comes out of nowhere to stun Aaron Rodgers to get the Bears to 6-5 and back into the playoff picture.
Stuff like that doesn’t happen in Chicago. A quarterback overcoming Green Bay to save postseason hopes? Please. That’s Disney-caliber dreaming. Most people have written off the Bears already in this game. The Packers have held their offense to 16 points combined in the past two meetings and now they’re coming off a stinging loss in Indianapolis. So one can bet they’ll probably play annoyed.
Never good news with a struggling team on deck.
The Chicago Bears seem headed down an inevitable path at this point. They’ll lose this game, fall below .500 and probably finish with a losing record for the fourth time in the past six seasons. Nagy and GM Ryan Pace will be fired and the cycle will begin again. Yet before that happens, an opportunity presents itself for Mitch Trubisky. One that a lot of “bust” QBs never get.
A chance to rewrite his story in just one game. Remember he is 1-4 against Green Bay in his career. They’ve had his number from the start. Flipping such a script is nearly impossible. Doing so surrounded by a lifeless offense? That could get people to pause and take note.