Josh McCown remains a favorite among Chicago Bears fans even all these years later. He is easily one of the best backup quarterbacks in franchise history. Nobody will ever forget the epic run he had in relief of Jay Cutler in 2013. One that saw him throw 13 touchdown passes to just one interception. It was a level of quarterback play the franchise hadn’t seen in years. Seeing him leave the next offseason was tough for many.
They wanted to see what might’ve happened had the Bears moved forward with him instead. Sadly that never came to pass. It appears McCown hasn’t forgotten his experience in Chicago though. During a recent interview with Bo Wulf of The Athletic, he was informed that in his long NFL career, he has thrown at least one touchdown pass to no fewer than 37 different targets. Then he was asked if he could possibly name all of them.
Ever the competitor, McCown accepted the challenge. It took a few hints towards the end, but he succeeded. The best part was he had no trouble rattling off all of the Bears he played with. A sure sign of how much he enjoyed playing there.
McCown: Back in. And with theeeeeee Packers? I mean, with the Bears. And I threw Roy Williams (13) one!
Wulf: Yes.
McCown: Um, I threw, no, I don’t know if I threw one to Kellen Davis (14).
Wulf: Yes, you did have Kellen Davis.
McCown: Oh, I did. Kellen Davis, yes. I did. Kellen Davis, on a Spider 2 Y Banana. Let’s see here, then, Alshon (Jeffery) (15).
Wulf: Correct.
McCown: Brandon Marshall (16).
Wulf: Correct.
McCown: Martellus Bennett (17).
Wulf: Correct.
McCown: Matt Forte (18).
Wulf: Correct.
McCown: Earl Bennett (19).
Wulf: Correct.
McCown: No relation.
Wulf: Also correct.
Josh McCown, rather fittingly, outlasted Cutler
Would the fate of the Bears have been different had they stuck with McCown back in 2013? It’s hard not to think about. They were rolling with him under center going into December. His finest performance was his last, a five-touchdown demolition of the Dallas Cowboys at a frigid Soldier Field. Despite this, head coach Marc Trestman went back to Cutler. The Bears lost two of their final three games and missed the playoffs. McCown left that offseason to become the starter in Tampa Bay.
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One could say it was a mutually harmful result. The next year a schism developed between Cutler and Trestman. One that saw him revert to his old ways throwing too many interceptions and even getting benching at one point. McCown crashed back to earth playing for a bad Buccaneers team and was gone after just one season. It’s hard not to lament what might’ve happened had Trestman had the courage to stick with the hot hand.
