After Sunday’s 354-yard, 6-touchdown performance, we can finally say that Mitch Trubisky’s long-awaited breakout has officially arrived.
It’s been a long time coming for Trubisky, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, but had seen two quarterbacks taken behind him (Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson) light up scoreboards across the league during their first extended stints under center. Not only were the Bears losing games under Trubisky, the numbers weren’t pretty. Sure, there was a throw here and a play there that represented a flash or a glimmer of hope, but it wasn’t anything more than that. Well, until Week 4 of the 2018 season happened.
If you were one of the folks wondering what the Bears’ decision-makers saw in Trubisky, just run back this game. Deep routes. Intermediate passes. Play action. Throwing left. Throwing right. Down the middle. Everything was in play and at Trubisky’s disposal on Sunday. Just check out his throw chart:
Can you marry a pass chart? Asking for a friend. https://t.co/q5N5SCsuey
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) September 30, 2018
This is what it looks like when you’re in complete control of an offense.
One of the things Bears fans could have hung their respective hats on prior to the game was Trubisky’s 69 percent completion rate, which represents a 10 percentage-point increase from his rookie season showing. HOWEVER, a bulk of those completions came on passes at or behind the line of scrimmage. That wasn’t the case on Sunday, as Trubisky completed 13 of 18 throws *beyond* the line of scrimmage (that’s 72.2% if you’re keeping score at home) and five touchdowns. And it’s hard not to come away impressed with the deep ball, where Trubisky completed six of seven attempts. Six of those 13 completions were for at least 20 yards.
Trubisky’s game on Sunday was a narrative changer, but also changed how we viewed him and what he can do in the offense.
Soooo there’s going to be an argument that goes something like this: “Well, ANYONE could have done that against the Bucs defense.” But here’s the thing 1) no quarterback had done so in the previous three games (and it’s not like Drew Brees, Nick Foles, and Ben Roethlisberger are chopped liver either) and 2) what Trubisky did on Sunday had never been done in the history of football.
Per stat maven @MikeGarrigan3, Mitchell Trubisky is the first QB in NFL history to have 350+ passing yards, 50+ rushing yards and 6+ TDs in a game. #Bears
— Dan Bernstein (@dan_bernstein) September 30, 2018
So you can save it, because this was a most impressive performance.
Move over, Johnny:
Mitchell Trubisky has 5 Pass TD in the 1st half. He the first player with at least 5 Pass TD in a single half since Aaron Rodgers had 6 in the 1st half on November 9, 2014 against the Bears.
The last Bears QB to throw 5 Pass TD in a game was Johnny Lujack in 1949 (6). pic.twitter.com/jxupPur4AJ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 30, 2018
As we pointed out in today’s Bullets, Trubisky’s Week 4 performance puts him on a 16-game pace of 3,780 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions to go along with a superlative 101.6 passer rating. Yeah, Sunday’s game throws these stats for a loop. But so did the bad games. I’m a believer in the idea that you’re never as good as your best days and you’re never as bad as your worst. If the truth is in the middle for Trubisky, it’s probably still more good than bad.
Nathan had the right idea going into Sunday:
Lehhhgoooo pic.twitter.com/9ww0zYvlNQ
— Nathan Butler (@nbutler49) September 30, 2018
Are you a believer yet?