Chicago Bears: Mitchell Trubisky showed his tremendous upside

Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky showed glimpses in his first career start of why he’ll be a star in this league.

It wasn’t the result the Chicago Bears were hoping for in Mitchell Trubisky’s first start, losing to the Minnesota Vikings 20-17. However, Trubisky flashed several times and showed why he will be a star in this league. While his numbers were not pretty (12-of-25, 128 yards, one touchdown, two turnovers), Trubisky gave this team a spark and a real sense of hope.

His mobility was on full display, consisting avoiding the Vikings’ strong rush by rolling out of the pocket. He made a terrific throw in the first half rolling to his right and throwing on the run to hit Tre McBride on third down. Despite the fact that this play was negated by a holding penalty, it showed all of Trubisky’s strengths — mobility, arm strength, and accuracy.

Trubisky had two turnovers, a fumble in the second quarter and an interception in the fourth quarter. He had no shot of avoiding the fumble, as Everson Griffen completely blew by Charles Leno Jr. and swatted the ball out of Trubisky’s outstretched right arm. The interception was a byproduct of Trubisky trying to do too much, but it wasn’t an egregious throw like throwing into triple coverage or completely throwing off target (like Mike Glennon did early this season).

The Bears offense was able to move the football, but they shot themselves in the foot with self-inflicted mistakes. As mentioned, the team had a 26-yard third down by McBride wiped out by penalty, and also saw Jordan Howard’s touchdown run go for naught because of another holding penalty. In all, the Bears had eight penalties in the game and a couple of drops.

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So, while the Bears lost the game, it wasn’t all bad since Trubisky had a solid showing. He gave the team confidence, and the fans at Soldier Field had some life because of him. There are going to be ups and downs this season, particularly when the team faces a strong defense like the Vikings’. Trubisky is going to be a star in this league, and his first start showed that he has the physical and mental makeup to be the Bears’ franchise quarterback for the next decade.