Raising expectations is never a bad thing. It means a player or team wants to hold itself to the highest standard. To be the best. Here’s the thing though. Having high expectations is good, but it comes with a risk. The danger of one putting too much pressure on himself. This is what happened to Mitch Trubisky in 2019.
Here’s a kid coming off such a strong season the year before. He throws for over 3,200 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Good for a 95.4 passer rating. The best single season passing the football the Bears had seen in over two decades. Sure by modern standards, it was far from elite but it was more than good enough to win 11 games. To say nothing of the 400 yards and three touchdowns he scored running the ball.
John DeFilippo reminded everybody that Trubisky played good football two years ago. What happened last year wasn’t ideal, but it also wasn’t entirely his fault.
“People forget that two years ago with Mitch Trubisky as the starter, the Chicago Bears won 12 games. Let’s not forget that. Mitch had a rough go of it last year, got a lot of blame.”
Mitch Trubisky doesn’t need to be Patrick Mahomes to win
People can scoff at what Trubisky did in 2018 all they want. The reality is if he put up those exact numbers for the next six seasons? He’d hold every Bears career passing record. By just his 30th birthday. By the standards of this franchise, that would be an otherworldly accomplishment. Something to hang the hat on for sure. Maybe not the home run people were hoping for, but a solid RBI base hit.
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This is where Trubisky needs to put his head. The Bears are a good football team. They still have an elite defense. He doesn’t have to be a Mahomes or an Aaron Rodgers. He doesn’t have to carry the team. All he needs to be is who he was two years ago. If that Trubisky shows up this season, the odds are good the Bears will win enough games to make the playoffs.
Would Bears fans take 3,000 yards, 24 TDs, and 12 interceptions every year if they could? Given the alternatives they’ve seen, that isn’t even up for debate. If Trubisky can wrap his head around this reality, he should have a rebound season.