In Season 6, Episode 7 of of The Simpsons, Bart returns to post-church Sunday school, so the teacher refers to him as the prodigal son. And in turn, Ralph Wiggum, Martin Prince, and the other children ask each other what prodigal means, giving the teacher an epic facepalm moment. It’s one of my favorite under-the-radar scenes in series history. And not just because I get to use that anecdote to introduce Mitchell Trubisky’s return to the Bears starting lineup (but it helps).
My friends, he doth return:
Coach Nagy has confirmed that Mitch Trubisky will be our starter this Sunday vs. Green Bay.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 27, 2020
I can’t help it if there’s a Simpson’s reference for everything.
And while we’ll fall short of referring to Trubisky as the prodigal son returning to save the Bears, the story pretty much writes itself, doesn’t it? I mean, it’s Sunday Night Football. It’s the Packers. The playoffs are still in sight. It’s going to be a thing (until it isn’t), and frankly, I’ll hear nothing to the contrary. Nor will I entertain the idea that he’s getting the job back only because Nick Foles’ injured. At the rate Foles was playing, it was only a matter of time until he gave the starting gig back to Trubisky.
In case you forgot, Trubisky was at the helm of the Bears’ first two wins, but was benched in Week 3. Nick Foles engineered a comeback victory in relief of Trubisky, then won two more starts getting Chicago to 5-1. Unfortunately, a four-game losing streak going into the bye and hip/glute injuries pushed Head Coach Matt Nagy into the switch.
I’d be *shocked* if Trubisky were able to perform well enough down the stretch to change the Bears long-term plans in any meaningful way, but he could still give Bears fans something to root for in an increasingly difficult season. We’ll have more on the downstream impacts soon, but for now, there’s your confirmation. Mitch Trubisky is starting for the Bears. Again.