Chicago Bears: Reviewing the 2018 dream season

Trubisky improved the way the team wanted

Ryan Pace made the development of Mitchell Trubisky his highest priority. That was the biggest reason for Nagy’s hiring. Nagy was a former quarterback and he coached quarterbacks before he became an offensive coordinator. He came to Chicago to help Trubisky.

In addition to Nagy, Pace went out and got quality receivers. He signed Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and Trey Burton through free agency. He also drafted Anthony Miller.

With the improved receiving corps and better coaching, Trubisky got a lot of help in getting better. All that help worked. He finished the season completing 66.6 percent (yes that is an eerie number) of his passes for 3,223 yards. He had 24 touchdown passes against 12 interceptions, a 95.4 passer rating and also ran for 421 yards and had three rushing touchdowns.

Compare that to 59.4 percent passing completion for 2,193 yards with seven touchdown passes against seven interceptions and a 77.5 passer rating.

In the Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Trubisky had a pretty good game. He completed 26-of-43 passes for 303 yards and a touchdown, and he had no interceptions. Yes, the Bears lost, but he wasn’t responsible for the loss as many “experts” predicted. He even did a great job of getting the offense into field goal range on the final drive to try to win the game.

Trubisky did everything the Chicago Bears expected from him. Sure, at times he tried to do too much, but for the most part, he was playing within himself. He had high times like the six-touchdown performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also he has low times such as the three-interception game against the Los Angeles Rams. The common denominator in both cases though was that the Bears won both games.

Trubisky was a lightning rod for debate in 2018. A big part of the Bears fanbase loved how he developed. Others, together with the national media, felt he didn’t progress how he should have. They saw a too-inconsistent thrower who had trouble throwing deep or hitting mid-range passes consistently. Some even predicted he might not be with the team in 2020.

It’s all about taking a step forward. No matter where you are on Trubisky, you have to admit that he took a step forward from year one to year two. Some didn’t think he took a big enough step. Whatever the case, the Chicago Bears finally have a franchise quarterback.

Will he be a game manager, one who isn’t outstanding but won’t hurt you, or will he be the quarterback who makes great plays and becomes the quarterback the Bears lacked for decades? It’s still too early to tell, but he is looking good so far.