Chicago Bears: Mitchell Trubisky should break out against Buccaneers
By David Mamola
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pass defense in shambles, Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky might be in store for a career game.
Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has yet to have that “break out” game in the early goings of the 2018 NFL season. That’s understandable, as he is still trying to learn Matt Nagy’s offense and the strengths/weaknesses of his receivers. With that being said, Trubisky might be in store for career-day versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4.
To say it simply, the Bucs pass defense has been horrendous. They’re allowing 362 passing yards per game (31st in the league), a league-worst completion percentage of 77.9 and an opposing passer rating of 117.1 (30th in the league). The Bucs are also allowing over 30 points per game and have generated just seven sacks.
The Bucs run defense on paper looks good (allowing only 70 yards per game, third-best in NFL), but when you consider they only see 19.7 attempts per game, that number looks skewed. Why run on the Bucs when you can pass, pass, pass?
Trubisky will likely be without rookie wide receiver Anthony Miller, but Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and, dare I say it, Kevin White should find holes against the Bucs secondary all game long. The offensive line should be able to give Trubisky time, meaning the big plays that the Bears have been lacking might come.
The Bucs have also been gashed by tight ends, allowing a league-high 109 yards per game to opponents. Trey Burton, who hasn’t been quite as productive as many thought he might be, should be able to easily torch the Bucs safeties.
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All of this should add up to a career day for Trubisky. His career-high for yards in a game is 314, which is actually almost 50 yards less than the Bucs are allowing per game this season. Trubisky has thrown two touchdown passes only once, which, at the bare minimum, he should be able to at least match on Sunday.
It would be great if Trubisky and the offense got some confidence heading into the Week 5 bye week. The Bucs have just the defense to make that happen.