Mitchell Trubisky Is Far from Finished Product, but He's the Best the Bears Have

Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky had a chance to check a few boxes off when he trotted out onto the field Monday night in a tie game with 2:32 left.

Simply securing a win was one bright red check mark, especially for a team that came into Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings with a 1-3 record.

Playing hero in his regular-season debut was another important check mark. That would have quieted concerns about what the Bears sacrificed in their trade to get Trubisky during the 2017 draft for at least a minute or two. Thriving in a high-pressure moment under the bright Monday Night Football lights also would have been a step toward overcoming his inexperience after only 13 college starts.

And a third much smaller but still important check validating a widespread observation: That Trubisky looks comfortable while throwing on the run.

Which was true, until it wasn't and a rookie quarterback looked like a rookie quarterback in a game-deciding moment that gave the Vikings a 20-17 win.

Everything Trubisky did Monday was a regular-season first, which included throwing his first career interception on his first snap in a two-minute situation.

He felt pressure while backed up near his own goal line, and rolled right. That was smart, and showed a mental sense for when to lean on athletic instincts as chaos develops. The problem is what happened when Trubisky was free from that chaos, and in more peaceful open-field surroundings where he's usually effective.

Trubisky didn't have a Vikings defender within about six yards of him when he wound up and released a pass intended for tight end Zach Miller.

Source: NFL.com

He had bought himself valuable time. And he should have used it to approach his next decision with a sense of calm.

Of course, calmness and a rookie quarterback debut don't really go together. So instead of weighing all the factors—a tie game with just over two minutes left, and the ball on his own 10-yard line—and doing anything else other than jam a throw into tight coverage, Trubisky fired away.

The resulting interception by Vikings safety Harrison Smith led to Kai Forbath's game-winning field goal. In a narrow, slopfest of a game in which the scoreboard somehow read 3-2 at halftime, Trubisky committed two turnovers leading to six points.

The first giveaway came when the 23-year-old was strip-sacked by Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen in the second quarter. That turned into another field goal and gave the Vikings a lead at halftime, even though they gained only 55 yards over the first two quarters.

Poor blocking was partly to blame for Trubisky's fumble, just as it was the entire evening. There were still promising moments when he was given time to process the warp-speed game in front of him.

His first career completion, for example, came on a laser 12-yard throw to wide receiver Kendall Wright. Trubisky had to be precise and time the sideline throw perfectly on his first third-down throwing situation.

He scattered other similarly impressive throws throughout the game, including an 18-yard bullet to wide receiver Tre McBride on the Bears' third drive.

Those hard-thrown balls planted on a receiver's chest can make you dream wistfully about a day when Trubisky is sliding free from pass-rushers, and then firing away with his bazooka arm at will.

But then you stop that daydreaming. It's healthy to do that after any rookie's first start, and especially during a night when even Trubisky's few moments of brilliance were heavily orchestrated.

As Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus noted, the former North Carolina standout finished with a passer rating of just 30.8 without play action:

His other final totals were also wince-worthy. Trubisky completed just 48 percent of his pass attempts for 128 yards.

He did throw his first career touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to tie the game, but even that has an asterisk. Trubisky wildly underthrew Miller in the end zone, and Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo should have snatched a routine interception.

Trubisky averaged 5.1 yards per attempt and led an offense that was responsible for just seven of the Bears' 17 points. Even with a fake punt and safety accounting for the rest, it was still the fourth game that the Bears have failed to score 20 points.

The season is likely lost already in Chicago, and Fox's job might be, too. But even though Trubisky struggled more than he succeeded Monday, there's still a promising athletic foundation to build upon.

He needs more time in an NFL pocket to develop as a well-rounded passer. He needs more time to get better with his downfield vision, and in turn become a more advanced decision-maker. And he needs more time to learn when a risk is warranted, and when it's best to heave the ball into the fifth row.

He needs time and patience. And he's about to get plenty of both.