Chicago Bears: The end of the Mitchell Trubisky era

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy ultimately didn’t like the results he was getting from the offense and he looked in the direction of Mitchell Trubisky.

Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky won the training camp competition; however, he was not able to hold on to the job as he was benched this past Sunday for Nick Foles. The Atlanta Falcons are one of the worst defenses in the league and yet Trubisky still struggled mightily. Specifically, in the red zone in a game where they needed more touchdowns than field goals against a high scoring opponent.

For fans, this is not a shock that it came to this with the former second overall pick from the 2017 draft. That is why I did not put much stock into Mitchell Trubisky winning the training camp competition. The real competition was always Trubisky trying to keep Foles on the bench with his play on the field.

Head coach Matt Nagy and the rest of the offensive coaching staff change the whole offensive identity (from a spread to a more true balance offense) to cater to Trubisky strengths. It was one last effort to see if he can manifest into a solid starting NFL quarterback.

In the end, all of that did not help as we saw the same old Trubisky; a QB that will show you some flashes of why he was a second overall pick, but also why the front office did not pick up his fifth-year option.

Trubisky has raw talent, but the talent is not enough. While Foles does not have the athleticism of Trubisky, what makes Foles the superior of the two is his knowledge of Nagy’s system and understanding of coverages. He knows where to go with the football, is quick with his decision-making, and accurate. Receivers know Foles will give them a chance to make plays all over the field (can’t say the same for Trubisky).

Foles is not the long-term answer at QB and given his history as far as durability there’s a likely chance we will see Trubisky again this season. However, the Trubisky era is definitely over in Chicago beyond this year. For a coach to go away from his system, his offensive identity in what he believes in, and yet you still can’t get the job done says a lot.

In the end, Bears fans will have to watch Trubisky name get added to the ever-growing list of QB failures of the franchise.