Chicago Bears: Mitchell Trubisky to begin 2020 season as starter

The Chicago Bears reportedly decided on their starting quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky.

The Chicago Bears reportedly decided who won the battle for starting quarterback for the 2020 NFL season. The competition was between incumbent Mitchell Trubisky and newcomer Nick Foles. The winner of that battle ended up being…Trubisky. It was a close race and each player had his ups and downs but Trubisky made enough of an impression to keep his job.

Neither quarterback did enough to pull away from the other. Many (me included) predicted that if the competition was close Trubisky would win the job. He’s the incumbent so it was up to Foles to come in and play well enough to dominate the competition. All Trubisky had to do was not fall flat on his face. Trubisky did what he needed to do and Foles didn’t so Trubisky finished ahead.

This is an important season for Trubisky. The Bears declined his fifth-year option that would have cost the team $24.8 million. If he doesn’t have a good season, his time in Chicago could be coming to an end. He may have won this battle but he still has to battle if he wants to keep wearing a Chicago Bears jersey.

While Trubsiky won the battle, the competition will continue into the season. Trubisky might have done enough to win now, but his troubles happen during games when he has to make quick decisions. He takes too long making those decisions and takes too many sacks. Head coach Matt Nagy noted that he did a better job of staying in the pocket and making decisions, it’s not the same thing when defensive players are banned from hitting you as when opposing defenses are paid to hit you.

This is a position Foles is used to playing. He came off the bench for two consecutive seasons in 2017 and 2018 to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to the playoffs. In 2017, he led the Eagles to a Super Bowl win and he won the Super Bowl MVP. He isn’t the starter now, but he’ll bide his time. If and when Nagy taps him to come in he’ll be more than ready to step up.

Nagy will have a short leash on Trubisky. If Trubisky starts to have the same struggles as he’s had Nagy won’t hesitate to pull him. The coach now has a backup he feels confident in who can take over.

He had Chase Daniel as the previous backup but Daniel in no way could outperform Trubisky and take over as the starter. Foles can do that, and add in his experience with Nagy, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, and offensive line coach Juan Castillo. That experience could ultimately push Foles over the top during the regular season.

The Bears hope that the competition made Trsubisky better. The team has an elite defense that may be better than the 2018 version that was a turnover machine. They don’t want to waste it. The quarterback needs to just do enough to score points to win games.

No matter how the battle progressed, Trubisky faced his first challenge of the 2020 season and he came out on top. He still has more hurdles but his confidence should be through the roof. Let’s see if he maintains that feeling through the season.