Mitch Trubisky played a tremendous game against the Miami Dolphins. He threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns with a 122.5 quarterback rating. However, there was one particular play in the game that he no doubt wishes he had back. It came in the third quarter. The Bears were up 21-13 and had a chance to put the game away with another touchdown. On first down in the red zone following a questionable penalty, he threw the ball into double coverage and was intercepted in the end zone.
It was a mistake that ended up costing the Chicago Bears dearly. Miami drove down the field after that play and scored to tie the game 21-21. After the game, Trubisky didn’t seem anxious to talk about that play, likely because he was upset with himself for throwing it. However, was it entirely his fault?
Former Bears guard and current play-by-play announcer Tom Thayer brought up a fascinating point on 670 The Score. He claims that Trubisky never saw the Dolphins defender who intercepted the ball because his white uniform perfectly blended in with the field goal post in the end zone. Review of the play brought about quite the revelation.
On @mullyhaugh this morning Tom Thayer said he thought on Mitch int the Miami defender blended in with the Goalpost and Mitch never saw him. I thought he was crazy ,well I’ll be Damn ! I should no better Thayer knows his football. pic.twitter.com/K0dZs92Z8U
— Olin kreutz (@olin_kreutz) October 16, 2018
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It seems Thayer was dead on. Look back on the pass play again and watch the receiver route develop. If one takes the safety out of the picture as Trubisky saw it, that’s a touchdown based on where the ball was headed. Remember that a quarterback must process what he sees at a ridiculous speed. He doesn’t have time to try to ascertain certain details. Where’s the orange blur and where’s the white blur. That’s what he was thinking.
He spotted the white blur of the goal post and an orange blur streaking towards it, apparently open. So he turned the ball loose. It wasn’t until it was too late that he realized he’d misread the situation. It’s an unfortunate case of bad luck. Perhaps if he’d had an extra second to see the play develop he might’ve noticed, but pressure forced him into a snap decision. Credit Miami for their well-designed stadium setup.
