Most people who know anything about quarterbacks will say the same thing. A team never truly knows what they have until they see how he reacts to pressure. Not just pressure in the metaphorical sense. High stakes and all that. Pressure in the literal sense. There are plenty of quarterbacks over the years who haven’t been able to stay productive in the face of being hit or sacked a lot. For Chicago Bears rookie Mitch Trubisky, that doesn’t appear to be a problem.
The #2 overall pick has begun to develop an odd reputation in 2017. It seems like the more he gets pressured during a game, the better he plays. Stats reveal as much. Against Green Bay, Baltimore and Carolina Trubisky was sacked 13 times. He went 33-of-58 for 517 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He had a quarterback rating of 97.6.
Against New Orleans and Minnesota he was only sacked three times. He went 26-of-57 for 292 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Of course this doesn’t mean he has to get pressured to play well. What it does mean is being pressured won’t completely ruin his day. That is a vital attribute for good quarterbacks to have.
Mitch Trubisky handling of pressure will show up down the road
This sort of quality can’t be taught. It also reveals that good things will be down the line for the Bears if he stays healthy. Typically the best quarterbacks are able to perform despite frequent pressure. Russell Wilson was sacked 45 times in 2015 and had the best season of his career. Tom Brady won two of his five Super Bowls during one of the four highest pressured seasons of his career.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Aaron Rodgers had the third-highest quarterback rating and third-most touchdown passes of his career in 2012. He was sacked 51 times. Would any of these men prefer to get hit so often? Of course not. Neither would Trubisky. The point is they don’t let that pressure get in the way of them doing their jobs. So far Trubisky is 2-1 in games where he’s been sacked four times or more.
The Bears don’t want to make a habit of letting that happen a lot. At the same time it’s nice to know their future franchise quarterback can keep his composure when the atmosphere is inhospitable.
