It’s official: Mitch Trubisky is once again the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears.
Now, this can mean one of three things. One: Mitch Trubisky showed significant improvement between 2019 and 2020, outperforming Nick Foles and genuinely coming close to living up to his first-round status. Two: Nick Foles has completely fallen off, proving his Super Bowl run is a massive outlier in his career and that the Eagles made the right choice in keeping Carson Wentz. Third: Ryan Pace will live and die on the Mitch Trubisky hill.
Trubisky Progression
The first option is one that most Bears fans want to believe is right; Mitch Trubisky has progressed and earned the starting quarterback job by blowing away the coaches in a hard-fought battle with Nick Foles. Bears running back and return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson had some flattering words on Mitch Trubisky’s growth. These were Patterson’s words according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN:
He actually looks like a whole new player this year I see it in his eyes and everything. He’s got that fire in him. That’s what we need out of our quarterbacks, that competition, it brings the best out of everybody. I’m excited to see what him and Nick can do for that job.
Patterson could be over-hyping Trubisky, but that is highly unlikely. Why would Patterson lie about a quarterback competition? Not only lie about it but lie about someone being amazing? It’d make sense for him to lie and say that it’s close, but it doesn’t make sense to lie about someone having the lead in the battle.
Foles Regressed, Trubisky Unchanged
The second option that is also incredibly likely: Nick Foles took a significant step back and blew it. It’s possible given the fact that we’ve seen Nick Foles before, and the results are mixed.
Stubborn Pace
The third and final option is Ryan Pace is refusing to admit his mistake with Mitch Trubisky. Would anyone be surprised if Ryan Pace is willing to stand and die on the Mitch Trubisky hill? Would anyone be surprised if Ryan Pace wanted Mitch Trubisky to be the starting quarterback so he wouldn’t look like a total idiot? Well, let me tell you, either way, he seems like an idiot.
If Mitch Trubisky goes out there and stinks, it becomes the classic “You could’ve had Mahomes.” If Nick Foles goes out there and stinks, it turns into “You could’ve had Cam Newton or Jameis Wintson for much cheaper.” Ryan Pace will look like an idiot unless Mitch Trubisky suddenly puts it all together and becomes an MVP but let’s be honest. That’s not happening.
Mitch Trubisky is the starting quarterback, and there’s no way around it. Do I expect that to change? Absolutely. Mitch Trubisky is starting for one of three reasons, two of which are extremely concerning. Those two reasons are also the most realistic. Overall, it will be interesting to see how the Bears perform.
