MINNEAPOLIS — On fourth-and-9 from midfield with two-and-a-half minutes to play Sunday, Mitch Trubisky felt pressure and rolled right. He kept his eyes downfield and found rookie receiver Riley Ridley, who’d shoved down third-string Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd on an inside release and ran a wide-open corner-stop route for 32 yards.
Seven plays later, the Bears chipped in a field goal to win 21-19.
On that completion, Trubisky looked like the quarterback the Bears claimed to have seen all season long — in practice.
“The guy makes plays in pressure moments, and I think people need to understand that,” left tackle Charles Leno said.
It’s the other moments that are more concerning. A drive earlier, Trubisky looked more like the quarterback the Bears have seen throughout their disappointing 8-8 season. He was sacked and fumbled at his own 37, but recovered the ball. On the next play, he fumbled again but couldn’t recover. The Vikings’ Ifeadi Odenigbo, a Northwestern alum, returned the fumble for a touchdown but replay ruled him down. The Vikings eventually kicked a field goal.
That, more than the late rally, is the story of Trubisky’s season.
The Bears had to be wary of false positives heading into Sunday’s game against a Vikings team that played only two defensive starters. But Trubisky didn’t even give them that.
Even against backups, Trubisky was exactly what always been. His stats were almost identical to his season and career averages.
Entering Sunday’s game, he averaged 21-for-34 for 209 yards, 1.2 TDs, 0.7 interceptions and a 82.9 passer rating this season. In 40 career games entering Sunday: 20-for-31 for 209 yards, 1.2 TDs, 0.73 interceptions and a 85.8 passer rating.
Sunday, Trubisky went 26-for-37 for 207 passing yards, no touchdowns or interceptions and a 84 passer rating.
The entire contest was a microcosm of his lost season. He threw short of the sticks on third down, ran only twice — once, when he was stuffed on fourth-and-inches —and scored one touchdown on five red-zone trips. The Bears failed to score a first-half touchdown for the 11th time in 16 games.
“I feel like we’re close,” Trubisky said. “ I feel like we’ve got the pieces. We just need to put it all together.”
The Bears are not close. Trubisky is the main — but not only — reason why.
Coach Matt Nagy will spend the coming weeks examining the corpse of his offense. He could replace offensive assistants as early as Monday, will scout his own play-calling and collaborate with general manager Ryan Pace to find answers at tight end, offensive line — and perhaps quarterback.
The Bears figure to at least bring in a veteran to push for Trubisky’s starting job.
To do anything else would be an act of faith Trubisky’s play doesn’t deserve.
“The stats, sometimes there can be false numbers — end-of-game, you’re throwing two-minute, throwing for 350 yards, and it’s not real,” Nagy said.
“But situational football in crucial times, I thought Mitch showed what he can do in those scenarios. He’s done that over his career.”
There are so many things he hasn’t done, though.
“We want to make sure as we go through this thing that we really, really learn [about] all the other stuff , which is going to happen — taking time on learning how to get better with everything that involves playing the quarterback position,” Nagy said. “On top of that, we want to do that — Ryan and myself as well — with a lot of different areas with the team: offense, defense, special teams. And we’ll have a big focus on the offense.”
They better.
“You have to look at the season and be honest with yourself and your teammates,” Trubisky said. “And, as a leader, make decisions that are best for you to get better.”
