The Chicago Bears defense balled out and stifled Joe Flacco, Jordan Howard chugged his way to 167 rushing yards, and Connor Barth kicked the game-winning field goal that gave the team its first road win in 658 days.
HOWEVER, it wouldn’t have been possible without Kendall Wright snatching a Mitch Trubisky pass on 3rd-and-11 late in overtime:
Trubisky evades the pressure. Wright leaps, catch pic.twitter.com/JWbbsWERSs
— ⓂarcusD (@_MarcusD2_) October 15, 2017
Trubisky finished with just 113 passing yards on 8 of 16 passing, but showed everything you want to see from a young, developing quarterback on that play. He felt immediate pressure, but his eyes never dropped as he continued to look downfield to make a play. Trubisky then uses his mobility to elude some defenders, move up in the pocket, and fire a strike only Wright could catch.
Mobility, arm strength, and accuracy were the three strengths Trubisky possessed despite being an inexperienced rookie. Those were also the three traits Mike Glennon lacked, which kept the Bears offense predictable and bland.
There is no denying the Bears offense struggled to find the consistency needed to sustain long scoring drives, but Trubisky’s ability to improvise gives the offense an element it didn’t have in the first four weeks. It will only get better as Trubinsky grows familiar with the playbook and his teammates.
Of course, we might not be talking about this Howard doesn’t truck his way through the Ravens defense on the team’s second offensive possession of overtime:
Howard 53 yard run pic.twitter.com/4z4Uha3qpU
— ⓂarcusD (@_MarcusD2_) October 15, 2017
And we’re definitely not talking about any of it if Connor Barth doesn’t nail this game-winning 40-yard field goal:
Connor. Barth. For. The. WIN! #DaBears pic.twitter.com/QO0EwFMWcl
— NFL (@NFL) October 15, 2017
The Bears blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead, but picked up an overtime win because two of their building blocks came up with big plays when they needed them the most.