Nick Foles Named Bears' Starting QB After Mitchell Trubisky Is Benched

Nick Foles will be in charge of hopefully leading the Chicago Bears to a 4-0 record in Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts.  

Bears head coach Matt Nagy told reporters he would be making a full-time switch from Mitchell Trubisky following the latter's benching on Sunday.

The quarterback battle in Chicago became one of the biggest storylines surrounding the franchise when the Bears traded for Foles this offseason. It was noteworthy for a number of reasons, especially since Trubisky is playing in the final year of his contract after they traded up in the 2017 draft to select him with the No. 2 pick.

That pick has not aged well considering Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were still available at the time.

Trubisky won the starting job to begin the season, likely benefitting from his experience in Nagy's offense since there was a shortage of practices and team activities in the offseason because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, things appeared to change in Week 3 when Nagy benched Trubisky after the Bears fell behind to the Atlanta Falcons.

Atlanta led 26-10 heading into the fourth quarter, but Foles finished 16-of-29 for 188 yards, three touchdowns and one pick while leading Chicago on a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter, clinching a dramatic 30-26 comeback victory.

His performance would have been even better if Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller came down with potential touchdown catches. The pass to Robinson fell through his clutches into the defender's arms, which turned a touchdown pass into an interception.

"It happened out of nowhere," Trubisky said of Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor telling him Foles was coming into that game, per Michele Steele of ESPN. "[He told me] Nick was up. The situation sucked."

Chicago has a number of talented pieces in place, including Robinson and David Montgomery, a solid defense, and it is off to a 3-0 start on the campaign. Quarterback play will likely be a major factor in whether the team will parlay its hot start into a playoff appearance, which puts Foles firmly under the spotlight.