Chicago Bears: Mitch Trubisky finally has his signature moment

In his 16th start for the Chicago Bears, Mitch Trubisky finally had his signature moment.

When the Chicago Bears traded up to draft Mitch Trubisky No. 2 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, expectations were sky high. After all, you don’t give up the draft capital Ryan Pace did in order to move up one spot for a quarterback unless you believe he is truly special.

While Pace certainly showed conviction and belief in Mitch, that confidence had not been rewarded through his first 15 career starts in the league. On the contrary, he was pretty soundly criticized as was Trubisky.

Much of that criticism was fair. Granted the first 12 starts were in something not even resembling an NFL offense, but even Trubsiky admitted he needed to play better — especially this season. As his offensive coordinator said, Trubisky needed to “make layups.” Fans wanted to see him have a performance that signaled he had the same ceiling as his peers selected later in the draft.

However, there were also takes that were so hot, I couldn’t put them in this post, lest they burn a hole through your computer or mobile device. Some called him a bust, while others called for Pace to be fired. Yet another contingent of Bears fans called for Chase Daniel to replace Trubisky.

That’s why Mitchapalooza’s performance on Sunday afternoon was that much sweeter. Not that he gives a rat’s hind end what any of those people think (he’s actually off social media anyway) but it had to feel good to silence his critics with a historic and record-setting performance.

Let’s just say the NFL has been around for a few years, so whenever a player does something that has never been done before, it’s worth celebrating. So let’s celebrate Trubisky’s stat line, shall we? He went 19-26 for 354 yards (13.6 average), 6 touchdowns, a 154.6 passer rating (98.9 QBR), and tied for the team lead with 53 rushing yards. He is the only player in NFL history with 6 touchdowns, 350+ passing yards and 50+ rushing yards in a single game.

To say Mitch finally had his signature moment in a Bears uniform might be the understatement of the season. As I mentioned earlier in the week, it only takes one game to jump-start the offense and this one could propel Trubisky to great things. In fact, he even hoped this game would be that turning point, saying “hopefully, this will be something I can look back on and say, ‘This is where it all started.’ ”

Now, this is the point in the piece where I remind our readers that a quarterback’s development is not linear. Just as I harped on this point during his struggles, I will underscore it after his success. There will be moments, drives, and games this season where Trubisky will look bad. That is just the nature of a young quarterback, thin on experience, working in a brand new (and really complex) offense.

However, this game did more for his confidence than 100 snaps could. It also reassured Bears fans that he is capable of playing like the No. 2 overall pick. It illustrated what his ceiling could be.

Again, he is working in a brand new offense with brand new weapons. And he still threw for over 350 yards and six touchdowns in only his fourth start in that offense. Imagine what will happen once he masters it — and make no mistake he will. The rest of the NFC North should be very worried, as Sunday could very well have signaled a shift in the balance of power within the division.