There is a genuine love-hate relationship in regards to Mitch Trubisky these days. Either there are people who view him as an up-and-coming quarterback with a huge ceiling of potential. Then others see him as a disaster unworthy of standing on a football field. His success is nothing more than the product of head coach Matt Nagy’s genius as a play caller.
Per usual, that is not true. If Trubisky were as talentless as these people claim he would’ve been benched after a few games. It didn’t happen. He threw 24 touchdown passes to 12 interceptions and also ran for over 400 yards and three more scores. Nobody will say his year was perfect, but compared to his rookie season it was a massive step forward.
That is a big reason former QB and NFL analyst Chris Simms gave him a decent ranking in his list of the top 40 quarterbacks in the NFL. Trubisky placed 20th in the rankings, beating out Jimmy Garoppolo, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, and Lamar Jackson.
“Let’s not go crazy here. He just led a team that was 12-4 to the NFC playoffs, and in the biggest drive of the year, he made some big throws. In the biggest game of the year, he made big throws all game long. He played phenomenal against the Philadelphia Eagles.
And everyone wants to jump on Trubisky. For reasons that are not Mitchell Trubisky’s fault. I really believe a lot of the hate that’s thrown out towards him, and I have to defend him in Chicago all the time, is because Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes were drafted after him. That’s not his fault. That’s Ryan Pace’s fault.
So stop blaming Mitchell Trubisky. You can win a Super Bowl with Trubisky.”
Mitch Trubisky hears the noise but is hardly phased by it
One thing about Trubisky is he’s not deaf. Even though he’s off social media during the season, he undoubtedly catches wind of a lot of the noise. He hears the criticisms. The only thing is he doesn’t seem to bend to the pressure. If anything, the louder the insults and condemnations get, the better he plays. Just look at two key examples from last season.
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Trubisky struggled early in the season and it hit a low point in Week 3 in Arizona where he managed just 220 yards with an interception and a fumble. People really started to get on him at that point, stating he wasn’t showing the progress that had been expected under Nagy.
The next week he threw six touchdown passes against Tampa Bay.
Fast forward to November 4th. Again he struggles against a tough Bills defense in Buffalo. He passes for just 135 yards on 12 completions with a touchdown, an interception, and a fumble. Once again the shouts for his head grew loud. Once again he silenced them the next week, bombarding the Lions for 355 yards and three touchdowns.
This pattern held true all season. After two tough games against Minnesota and Los Angeles where he threw five interceptions, he played the final four games of the year without throwing another. Don’t be fooled. This guy can play. It’s a matter of him finding the comfort level and consistency in this offense in order for things to truly take off.
