Sometimes it’s the weirdest things that can get an NFL locker room to buy into as a leader. Despite already winning MVP prior to 1994, Hall of Famer Steve Young said it was his blowup at head coach George Seifert during a loss to Philadelphia that finally got the San Francisco 49ers to truly follow him. It would seem a similarly surprising moment last year galvanized many on the Chicago Bears roster to buy into Mitch Trubisky.
Was it his crazy fourth quarter scramble that put the team in position to force overtime against Detroit? No. What about the superb scramble and pass to Kendall Wright to help beat Baltimore? Not that either. As it turns out according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN, a number of people look to a loss as a big watershed moment for their purchasing of the Trubisky hype.
“Several players point to the season finale against the Minnesota Vikings when things just weren’t clicking. By the third quarter, the Bears were down 23-7. Chicago’s only score came on a 59-yard punt return. Staring down Minnesota defensive tackle Linval Joseph in the end zone, Trubisky panicked and flicked the ball.
He was called for intentional grounding, resulting in two points for the Vikings. Shortly after, Trubisky gathered the wide receivers together on the sideline and said: “OK, we got this. We can’t beat ourselves, we’ve put in all this work.” The Bears lost but finished with a scoring drive.”
Mitch Trubisky showed zero quit in brutal conditions that day
The situation facing Trubisky in that game was unenviable. He was playing with a bad receiving corp against the #1 defense in the NFL on the road with a coaching staff that likely knew they were getting fired. The desire to fight for a victory in those conditions would’ve been almost non-existent. It fell to the young quarterback to set the example by continuing to fight.
The numbers didn’t really stand out following that intentional grounding in the second quarter. Trubisky ended up completing less than half his subsequent passes. What stood out more was his unwillingness to grind out the clock and just get out of there. He continued to attack the Vikings down the field through the air. Of the 13 passes he completed, four of them went for 20 yards or more.
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Mike Nugent hit a 55-yard field goal to make it 23-10 but what some forget is Trubisky almost made it 23-17. He got the Bears to the Minnesota 2-yard line with just over two minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to punch it in on 4th and goal. The Vikings got the ball back and ran out the clock.
Fans choose not to remember this because it was the end of the season and the Bears were out of the playoff picture. Yet for the other players on that team, it was still a game to play and for their young quarterback, it was a game he was doing everything possible to win. That means a lot to men who pour so much into every season. They finally have somebody who will fight for them.
It’s Trubisky’s show now.
