Chicago Bears: Mitch Trubisky should not get a standing ovation

For three quarters against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, the Chicago Bears offense led by quarterback Mitch Trubisky looked predictably lifeless.

The Chicago Bears are 1-0 to begin the season. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw three come-from-behind touchdown passes in the game’s final quarter to rally his team to a 27-23 victory over the hapless Detroit Lions.

Yet, if not for a dropped end-zone pass in the game’s final seconds by Detroit’s rookie running back, the Bears would be 0-1, frustrated – rather than excited.

Football outcomes, wins in particular, stand out more than anything else. The headlines everywhere will point out the fact that Trubisky overcame a sluggish three quarters to deliver an impressive, somewhat improbable opening day win. He made some impressive throws in the game’s final minutes, no doubt. His final touchdown throw to receiver Anthony Miller was a thing of beauty.

Unfortunately, these are the types of plays that far too often only come in brief flashes for Trubisky. A light switch seems to only flick on for him after his team’s offense has dug itself a huge deficit to climb out of late.

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Trubisky’s stat-line: 20/36, 243 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int, 104.2 Passer Rating, looks very impressive. Yet, if you actually watched the entire game, you’d notice that Trubisky’s up-and-down, inaccurate play hasn’t left despite this now being his fourth NFL season.

By now, Trubisky should be able to put together a consistent game from start to finish; one where he gets it going well before it becomes crunch time. If Trubisky was a rookie, or in his second season, or even playing against a championship contending team, this type of performance from him would still be completely understandable, but not when he’s in his fourth season, now one of the veteran leaders on the Bears.

Furthermore, this was the Detroit Lions … a team that had a depleted secondary due to injuries. A team that is hardly known to play good defense despite hiring a defensive minded coach. How much stock should we really put into Trubisky’s performance as a result?

Not a ton. Trubisky definitely showed resiliency and the ability to shake off his struggles to come up big in the clutch. He’s already proven he could do that from time to time which is an excellent quality you want your franchise quarterback to have. But displaying consistency is the biggest challenge Trubisky has still yet to master.

If he can’t improve upon that now, are the Bears really better off with him taking snaps under center in this make-or-break season? Doubtful, unless Nick Foles isn’t really as good as his reputation.