Even in loss, Mitchell Trubisky gives Chicago Bears fans special moments

Despite some warts, Mitchell Trubisky showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s a special football player yesterday despite the Chicago Bears’ loss.

When Mitch Trubisky took a sack on 3^rd-and-10 with 28 seconds left in the game Sunday, the frustration reached fever pitch in Section 445 at Soldier Field where I was sitting, taking in my first Chicago Bears game.

Trubisky, despite playing a pretty solid game so far, showed us once again in that moment that he was still a rookie on the last drive, adding that sack to a near-interception a few plays earlier. And in all likelihood, the Bears looked like they were definitely about to drop to 3-7 after the next play.

As the Bears went up to the line of scrimmage for 4^th-and-13, I knew Trubisky was going to take matters into his own hands. I knew he was going to run the football. If there was ever a time for him to make some magic, this was it.

And unlike basically every quarterback the Chicago Bears have had in my memory, he actually did it.

More from Da Windy City

• Juan Soto appears headed to the Yankees which is not a big blow Chicago Cubs offseason
• 3 takeaways from Chicago Blackhawks shootout loss to Nashville
• Chicago Cubs in the middle of chaos that is Shohei Ohtani’s free agency
• The Chicago Cubs are on a roller coaster of emotions chasing Shohei Ohtani
• Chicago Bears quietly compiling list of head coaching candidates

Trubisky turned a play doomed to fail into a first down, running for 19 yards and keeping the Bears alive.

As I laughed my head off from the stands as everyone around me cheered, I thought several things at once.

For one, of course, I had to throw in a “Mike Glennon definitely couldn’t do that” thought. I don’t think a single person still wonders which guy is the better player.

But the best part was that, even from hundreds of feet up, you could just see the determination and sheer will not to fail in his eyes. Imagine that: the Chicago Bears have a quarterback with both the skill and desire to just take over when he has to.

And then, in hardly less impressive fashion, he drilled a 15-yard strike to Dontrelle Inman on the next play, setting the Bears up at the 28-yard line with a chance to tie the game.

Sure, Connor Barth blew it, but that’s not Mitch’s fault. And we still learned something positive here.

Yes, Trubisky still needs work. His pocket presence isn’t always where it needs to be—he had a few plays where he tried to escape too quickly instead of standing in. And he had a costly fumble on a snap that was returned for a touchdown. And he still occasionally misses throws, like the one he turfed to a wide-open Benny Cunningham on the goal line on the Bears’ first possession.

That comes with the territory when you play a rookie quarterback.

But the plays he made in crunch time? That’s not how your average rookie quarterback plays. Just ask Nathan Peterman (6-of-14, 66 yards, 5 INTs in his first start). Side note: bet you’re not wishing the Chicago Bears drafted him anymore, are you?

That was special. Some diehard Bears fans near me even said “Aaron Rodgers-esque”. If you remove the obvious experience and pedigree differences between Rodgers and Trubisky, I see the point.

Next: What we learned from the Bears' loss to the Lions

He may not be perfect, but the Chicago Bears have a quarterback that can do truly special things. As much as this town loves defense, this is what Chicago has been wanting all along: a franchise-caliber quarterback.

At this point, I don’t think there’s really any merit to debating whether or not the Bears have one now.