On Friday, Chicago Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy confirmed that quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will be starting Sunday Night against the Green Bay Packers. Trubisky will make his first start since his week three benching in Atlanta following an ill-advised interception. The benching now has left many wondering if Nagy sat his young quarterback too soon as the offense has regressed week by week since Nick Foles during their current four-game losing streak.

#Bears coach Matt Nagy says Mitch Trubisky is the starting QB against the #Packers.

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) November 27, 2020

Nagy Was Waiting To Bench Trubisky Instantly

In the week three game against Atlanta, Nagy pulled Trubisky for two reasons. The first was his poor accuracy on deep passes as he missed wide receiver Anthony Miller down-field. The second was Trubisky’s inability to read defenses, which led to interceptions, including the one interception that got him benched.

Despite Trubisky’s deep ball inaccuracy, he wasn’t playing badly as the offense was moving the ball in the three games he played in. Chicago scored touchdowns in all three of his starts, which is more than Foles has done in his seven starts as the Bears did not score an offensive touchdown in two of those games.

Even in the Atlanta game, Trubisky was moving the offense as they scored 10 points, missed a field goal opportunity, and had three drives of 47 yards or longer. Of his three interceptions in the first three games, only one was a bad throw. Trubisky’s two interceptions that came against the Giants in week two came on throws where his receiver had hands on the ball, including a ball that was ripped out of the hands of receiver Allen Robinson.

Bears Offense Has Missed Trubisky’s Ability To Scramble

The difference in the Bears’ offense between the two quarterbacks has been their ability to scramble to pick up yards. Trubisky, in two of the three games, had scrambles of 20 yards or longer that either led to a score or flipped the field for the defense. Foles had frustrated many as he has had several opportunities to run for the first down but was fearful of running. One play in which he chose not to run for the first down cost them the game in overtime against the Saints.

With the struggles of the offensive line, Trubisky’s ability to move around in the pocket could help lead to a decrease in sacks and help decrease the pass coverage wide receivers may face. Since Foles has been the quarterback, defenses have been able to drop more defenders back into coverage as linebackers don’t need to guard against the quarterback scrambling. In the last several games, there have been few moments in which a Bears’ passing target was wide open.

Nagy’s Struggles Proved Trubisky Wasn’t The Sole Issue

Since week four, Chicago’s offense has struggled from a consistency standpoint as the running game has been non-existent and the passing offense has been stagnant. One thing Nagy promised when Foles took over as the starter was a more explosive offense, which was seen in the second half of the Atlanta game. Since week three, the Bears offense has failed to score more than 23 points on offense. They only have seven pass plays longer than 25 yards in the seven starts with Foles. The failure for the offense to connect on big plays is what led Nagy to give up play-calling duties heading into the Bears’ last game against the Vikings.

Nagy has now had two quarterbacks that previously worked with him in Kansas City that have now played for the Bears and struggled. Foles and former Bears’ quarterback Chase Daniel have started for the team in the previous three seasons, and both have failed to protect the ball while also being ineffective. When Trubisky was benched, many were led to believe that it was him holding the offense back, but now with how Chicago’s offense has performed in the last six weeks, Chicago’s younger quarterback has been vindicated.

Trubisky will get his second chance on Sunday Night as the Bears are in a must-win situation to save their fleeting playoff hopes. If he can lead the Bears to victory and perform well, it will cause many to believe that his week three benching was very premature and costly to the team.