Bears Confirm Trubisky Promotion, Pressure On Loggains, Young QBs Thrive In Week 4, and Other Notes

Oct 02, 2017

The Chicago Bears made Mitch Trubisky’s promotion official on Monday afternoon. Trubisky will indeed make his first start in a game that matters in the regular season standings a week from tonight when the Bears host the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.

From there, he’ll take a chance at making history:

Over the last 30 seasons, only 3 1st-round pick QBs made their 1st career start on Monday Night Football

Mitch Trubisky will be the 4th pic.twitter.com/mk2SkI2kx3

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 2, 2017

Do you know who Aaron Rodgers defeated when he made his NFL starting debut on Monday Night Football? That’s right. The Minnesota Vikings. You can re-visit that box score here, if you’d like.

Albert Breer of SI.com’s The MMQB writes that Mitch Trubisky has the look of a rookie who is ready to handle the snaps as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Indeed, his progress as a developing quarterback has been nothing short of a pleasant surprise. Trubisky has passed every test handed to him thus far, and it’s only right for him to take the next step in the process. It’s not always going to look as smooth or fun as it did during the preseason or in training camp, but the time has come to see what the rookie can do against the highest level of competition.

Of course, Glennon’s struggles played a role in Trubisky’s promotion, too. It would be hard to imagine a quarterback controversy (let alone change) had Glennon played well when given his opportunity. The turnovers and missed opportunities proved to be too much to overcome for a team that entered the year with a thin margin of error.

Is there reason for optimism with Trubisky under center? Absolutely. But finishing the season with an 8-8 record? Now, that would be something special. For the Bears to end the year on that kind of high note, Trubisky must lead the team to a 7-5 record – which is no easy task for a rookie on his maiden voyage. Still, Cody Williams of NFL Spin Zone offers up five reasons how Trubisky and the Bears can make the team’s first non-losing record since 2013 a reality.

If the Bears are going to pull a rabbit from their hat and finish 8-8, the offense needs to get in gear. With a new quarterback in tow, ESPN Chicago’s Jeff Dickerson writes the pressure shifts to offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains to create the right kind of game plan for Trubisky. This won’t be an easy task for the second-year coordinator, especially with starting receivers Cameron Meredith and Kevin White on injured reserve. The healthy bodies don’t give much reason for optimism, as no Bears receiver grades higher than “below average” by Pro Football Focus’ standards. Starting Trubisky should inspire Loggains to put together a plan which focuses on running the ball behind a newly healthy offensive line.

We won’t know what drove the Bears to make this decision until John Fox shares his thoughts on his coaches show tonight at 6:30 on WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9, but I can’t help but think the play from some of the league’s up-and-coming quarterbacks had something to do with it. Deshaun Watson accounted for a rookie record five touchdowns (four in the air, one on the ground) in a one-sided win against the Tennessee Titans. Second-year quarterback Jared Goff led the Los Angeles Rams to an upset win on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, throwing for 255 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Goff has the Rams at 3-1, causing Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times to write about the young quarterback being unflappable against a Cowboys team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Believe it or not, the Bears had other options besides starting Trubisky on Monday Night Football. John Mullin of NBC Sports Chicago offered up some outside-the-box thinking had the Bears wanted to go in a different direction without calling on the rookie. Mullin doesn’t believe Trubisky is ready to start at the NFL level, thus suggesting two other options. The first is a scenario in which Trubisky comes in with a package of plays, much like what was done with Steve McNair of the Houston Oilers in 1995 or Cade McNown with the Bears in 1999. The alternative scenario would have been giving Mark Sanchez a shot at starting – a move that could have led to a third string demotion for Glennon. No matter the alternatives, there was no scenario in which Glennon was going to come up pleased. Then again, he hasn’t been pleased with himself or his play lately.

And finally, this is truly a nice gesture from offensive lineman Kyle Long, who is donating $50,000 toward hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico:

#PuertoRico @DirectRelief pic.twitter.com/Kfl9sC3Qng

— Kyle (@Ky1eLong) October 1, 2017

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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