Chicago Bears: Mitchell Trubisky silencing doubters

Chicago Bears second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky decided to make a statement against the Buccaneers in Week 4 with a masterful first half.

Through the first three games under new head coach Matt Nagy, there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Chicago Bears. Their defense with Khalil Mack looked dominant and the offense clearly had weapons. The one piece that they needed to fall into place, however, was quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

Trubisky, who was taken ahead of both Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in the 2017 NFL Draft, started the 2018 season in a rough way. Through three games, even with a 2-1 record, the quarterback had just 591 yards for two touchdowns and three interceptions. What’s more, his lack of downfield playmaking began to alarm many Bears fans.

With the questions swirling, the Bears welcomed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Soldier Field for Week 4. This seemed a massive game for the second-year quarterback as, despite Tampa’s hot start, the Bucs defense had been quite porous through the first three games. Thus, it was a game where Trubisky needed to take a step forward.

It’s safe to say that the North Carolina Tar Heels product wasn’t going to leave anyone to doubt him with such an opportunity at hand.

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Trubisky simply lit the world on fire in the first half against the Buccaneers. On their first drive of the game, he found tight end Trey Burton down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown. The Bears would then punt on their next drive, but that seemed to only fuel the newly lit fire beneath the Chicago offense.

Chicago and Trubisky would go on to score on their next four drives in the first half. More specifically, the 2017 second-overall pick would throw four more touchdown passes in the opening pair of quarters, more than doubling his total for the season coming into the Week 4 matchup in one half. For good measure, he wasn’t dinking and dunking either with 289 yards passing in the half, going 14-of-18, and also added 53 rushing yards on three carries.

With the Bears defense remaining strong and stifling Ryan Fitzpatrick, Trubisky’s big half gave his team a commanding 38-3 lead going into halftime.

While the Bucs defense is undeniably not a good overall unit, Trubisky spent the first half showing every tool he possesses. He was pin-pointing throws (like the touchdown pass to Allen Robinson), throwing the ball down field and even making plays with his legs to move the chains or keep a broken play alive.

Again, this isn’t to say that every question about Trubisky coming into this game has been answered. However, it is to say that he has this within him. Perhaps, with the confidence from a first half like that in addition to growing comfort within Nagy’s offense, he can start to approach the level of his draft-mates, Mahomes and Watson.