Chicago Bears: Comparing Mitchell Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes unfair
By David Mamola
Early season comparisons between Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are unfair.
Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes were both drafted in 2017. So, naturally, the two will be compared to one another. Early on in the 2018 NFL season, there really hasn’t been any comparison to be had; Mahomes is on an MVP trajectory while Trubisky is still struggling to put up points.
Comparing these two players might be fun, but it’s unfair. While Trubisky has made 11 more NFL starts than Mahomes, he’s also learning his second NFL playbook already. Mahomes, meanwhile, had the fortune of spending the majority of his rookie season sitting back, watching Alex Smith play and learning the complexities of the Chiefs offense.
Right now, Trubisky is still taking 100-level courses of Matt Nagy’s offense. Mahomes, meanwhile, is taking 300-level courses under Andy Reid. Mahomes is clearly more comfortable in his offense than Trubisky is in his, and the results on the field speak for itself.
The Chiefs are winning games because of Mahomes, while the Bears are winning games in spite of Trubisky’s early season struggles. But for all of those who want to consider Trubisky a “bust” already, take it easy. The same can’t be said about Mahomes, but cold water can be poured on him.
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His early season performance is historic, but let’s not get his Hall of Fame gold jacket ready either. The sample size is still extremely small for both players.
In all seriousness, the best time to compare Trubisky and Mahomes is when their careers are both over. At that time, the entire body of work is available, and not just a handful of games. How many times have we seen a quarterback get off to a blistering start, only to fade as the season goes along?
Likewise, how many times has a quarterback started slow and blossomed into having a Pro Bowl-type season? Jumping to conclusions this early in the season is not the right thing to do. Let’s give it some time before we declare what both players are or aren’t. It’s the fair thing to do.