Mitch Trubisky is a polarizing figure in the NFL at this point, almost to a comical degree. Here’s a young kid in his second year in the league, the first year of a new offense on a franchise known for mishandling the position and he had the team 9-4 and on the cusp of a division title. Sure he hasn’t been the primary reason for that success but the Chicago Bears wouldn’t be in this position without him. That’s a fact.
Yet in this modern era, that’s not good enough. While somebody like Patrick Mahomes is lighting up the league for 43 touchdown passes, people are left wondering why can’t Trubisky do that. He was drafted before the Chiefs star after all. This is often one of those cases where context isn’t taken into account.
Then again, part of the reason so much of the country has piled on Trubisky is his own doing. Not so much because he’s been bad in general. That’s not the case. It’s more that he keeps picking the worst times imaginable to deliver bad performances.
Mitch Trubisky hasn’t put up a strong showing in primetime yet
Here’s something to remember about fans. Not everybody sees every game every week. Many people only see those games that are showing in their local areas. It’s the same for Bears fans. They see every Bears game because that’s their team. That’s why they are far greater experts on Trubisky and his progress than any other. The rest of the country can only go by stat sheets and one other avenue.
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Nationally televise games. This is probably where Mitch has hurt his reputation the most. So far in his career, the young Bears quarterback is 96-of-155 for 744 yards, five touchdowns and eight interceptions in five games played in primetime.
That’s not good. Trubisky has played some of the worst games of his young career in front of millions of people around the world. When they see that, it’s inevitable they’re going to make the assumption that he simply isn’t a good enough quarterback. When the lights are on and he’s facing a quality opponent, he never brings his best.
Until that change, the narrative about him being unequal to the task of playing quarterback at a high level in the NFL will remain. There’s no reason to give up on him of course. Not even close. He’s still in his first year of Matt Nagy’s offense and has shown plenty of signs of progress. It’s a matter of getting him to a point where he can execute even against good defenses.
