Credit Matt Nagy. He always takes the high road whenever his young quarterback struggles. It would be so easy for the Chicago Bears head coach to offer criticisms. Especially given the kind of competitor he is and how seriously he takes that position, being a former QB himself. Yet he hasn’t lost his faith that Mitch Trubisky can and will figure things out. It’s a matter of him and the rest of the offense finding a rhythm.
One thing Nagy references as a persistent issue is the lack of “explosive” plays. This is true. Chicago just hasn’t had a lot of big plays down the field, running or passing. Trubisky has thrown 24 passes at least 10 yards or further. Only six of those passes have been completed. It’s really hard to jumpstart an offense with that sort of ratio. Most chalk this up to the quarterback simply not being good enough. This is partially fair. Trubisky has missed a number of opportunities.
However, there’s something else that needs pointing out. He’s also played against what is proving to be two good pass defenses. Green Bay has the 10th ranked unit in the NFL through two weeks. Denver has the 4th. Now some will say they benefitted from playing against Trubisky. However, the Packers just got done holding Kirk Cousins to 14-of-32 passing for 230 yards with two interceptions on Sunday.
The Broncos allowed just 259 yards from Derek Carr despite him completing 22 of his 26 passes in the opener. These defenses are good and well-coached. It won’t be this way all season. Next week may end up being the first break.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Mitch Trubisky could finally get on track over the next five weeks
The Bears will head east this coming weekend to Washington. There they will play the Redskins on Monday Night Football. Chicago hasn’t beaten that team since 2003. So predicting an easy victory at this point would be unwise. With that said, this could be the opportunity Trubisky has waited for to finally get himself going. Why? Washington has proven to have a less than stellar pass defense so far this season.
In the opener against Philadelphia, Carson Wentz threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns. Then this past week, Dak Prescott went into that stadium and threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns of his own. He also had just four incompletions. Washington has just 20 total pressures and two sacks through those two games. Their corners have been targeted 48 times, allowing 38 completions for 542 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. That equates to a 141.49 passer rating.
Sometimes people need to start on lesser difficulties to get their confidence up. Trubisky will have big opportunity to do just that next Monday night.
It won’t stop there though. After a showdown with Minnesota the next week, Chicago will travel to London to take on the Oakland Raiders. They boast the 32nd ranked pass defense in the league. Then two weeks later after the bye, they host the New Orleans Saints who are ranked 18th. So Trubisky has a doable slate ahead of him. It’s a matter of whether he can take advantage of it.
