Mitch Trubisky set himself up for a grand revival over the past few weeks. He was good against the Giants and outstanding against the Lions and Cowboys. This put him back on firm footing going into a do-or-die contest against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. If he could deliver another solid performance in difficult conditions with the cold and crowd noise? That might get enough people on his side to warrant allow him one more shot in 2020.
As has become so routine in the past three decades, the Chicago Bears quarterback failed to answer the bell. While Trubisky wasn’t the main issue on Sunday in Green Bay (that honor goes to the offensive and defensive lines), the sharpness he showed the previous three weeks seemed to evaporate as the game went on. He reverted back to the form he showed from September to mid-November, missing easy throws and looking a little too passive at times.
Despite narrowing the gap to 7-3 at halftime, his big opportunity to change the narrative came and went after the Packers jumped up to 14-3 to start the second. He hit Allen Robinson for 34 yards, then made two crucial bad plays to stall the drive, enabling the Packers to pretty much put the game away on their next series with another touchdown. It was pretty much a microcosm of his career.
Makes the occasional beautiful play but continues to sprinkle a number of bad ones into the mix. The backbreaking interception to Dean Lowry in the 4th quarter is a prime example. Then a turnover on downs after four-straight incompletions after that. It’s hard to win football games consistently like this.
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Mitch Trubisky will likely have competition in 2020
All this being said, the reality is Trubisky isn’t going anywhere. The Bears have him cheap for one more year in 2020 and they have good reason to keep him on. Whether they pick up his 5th year option is a bigger question and something worth arguing. That said, the far bigger issue will be whether the team decides to make a serious attempt at finding competition. It won’t be easy. They have neither a 1st round draft pick nor a lot of salary cap space to make a notable move at the position.
It would take some creativity for them to reshuffle the position to something more favorable. Not impossible but highly difficult given how in-demand the position always is. There is also the wild card of GM Ryan Pace. He’s made it clear at every opportunity that he remains firmly behind Trubisky and is willing to see this thing through. Whether that’s a genuine belief or a simple unwillingness to admit he was wrong is unclear.
There is a possibility he may try to explain weaknesses at tight end and on the offensive line need addressing. There is validity to such an excuse but a lot of people aren’t likely to buy it at this point. Good quarterbacks work around such issues. Trubisky too often has not.
