The Chicago Bears did all that they could to surround their second-year franchise quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky with weapons this offseason. Despite having a slightly disappointing rookie season in 2017, the Bears expected to see a significant jump of progression in his second year.
So far, Trubisky has yet to prove that he is worth the second-overall pick of last year’s draft. The Bears took a shot on Trubisky, making him the first of three quarterbacks to come off the board during the 2017 NFL Draft.
After the Bears’ selection, the Kansas City Chiefs selected Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick. Following them, the Houston Texans took Deshaun Watson at No. 12. Now, both quarterbacks have proven to be of massive value to their offenses. Trubisky on the other hand still has a ton of question marks surrounding his game.
How does Trubisky look through two weeks?
The expectations for Trubisky and the Bears were at an all-time high in 2018. The Bears general manager Ryan Pace did an excellent job assembling some new weapons in the passing game that included some big names like Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and tight end Trey Burton.
Along with the already established force in the backfield that is Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, the Bears were expected to be dominant on the offense side of the ball. Now, it looks like their defense is carrying them through two games.
During Week 1, we saw the Bears collapse late in the game as Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers somehow returned from a knee injury and led his team to a comeback. Although the Bears were close to pulling off the win, Trubisky missed many opportunities to put points on the board against a mediocre defense all throughout the night. His final stat line was 171-yards and zero touchdowns. Trubisky’s passer rating was near the bottom-of-the-barrel with an ugly 77.2
Trubisky’s game didn’t look much better in week two, despite passing for two touchdowns (one of which was a three-yard shovel pass). Along with his two scores, Trubisky and the Bears offense allowed the Seahawks to stay in the game as Seattle forced two interceptions on the second-year quarterback. Luckily, the Bears were able to pull off the 24-17 win over the Seahawks, but it’s evident that the Bears do not have everything figure out quite yet.
What’s it going to take?
Let’s start by saying this, Trubisky cannot be looked at as a first-round bust this early on. It’s just two weeks of football. He might’ve fallen behind some of the guys in his draft class, but it’s not time for the Bears to have regrets just yet. And although Trubisky has made some clear mistakes along with his growing pains, he is not the one to point the finger at.
The Bears have a solid run game, no doubt. Unfortunately, Jordan Howard finished Monday’s game with only 35-yards off of 14 carries. In other words, averaging 2.5 yards-per-carry is not going to cut it. The Seahawks defensive line made it tough for Chicago in the trenches, and the pressure was on all night for Trubisky and the backfield all night.
There’s not a simple solution for Trubisky’s struggles, but the Bears are going to need to do a better job with balancing out the offense. The talent is there, but the decision-making needs to be a bit better. Just remember, along with Trubisky’s inexperience comes a first-year head coach in Matt Nagy. It will get frustrating at times, but Trubisky is not to blame for partial offensive struggles. Next week, the Bears hit the road to take on a struggling Arizona Cardinals team.
The matchup should be much more favorable for the Bears offense. However, if they struggle to consistently move the ball on the Cardinals next week, then the Bears may need to start questioning their offensive decisions moving forward. It should be an easy day next week with tons of time for Trubisky to build up his confidence.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
