Jay Cutler was notorious for a lot of things: his cannon arm, his propensity to throw the ball to the wrong team and the legend — that he doesn’t deny — in which he screams “don’t care!” at someone trying to chat him up at a urinal.
Somewhere on that list — maybe between the “Smoking Jay” internet sensation and his select words for Mike Martz — is this: the former Bears quarterback couldn’t beat the Packers. He went 2-11 against his rivals during his career, infuriating Bears fans who merely had to look to the other sideline to see a true franchise quarterback.
Mitch Trubisky, amazingly, is starting to look the same way — as if he didn’t have enough trouble, already, with the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes coming to town Sunday.
Trubisky is now 1-4 in his career against the Packers.
Against his rivals, Cutler threw 1.2 touchdowns per game, 1.7 interceptions per game and won 15.4 percent of the time. Trubisky has averaged 0.8 passing touchdowns, 0.6 interceptions and won 20 percent of his games against the Packers.
Cutler completed 56.8 percent of his throws against the Packers and amassed a 68.9 passer rating. Trubisky: 60.7 percent and an 80 passer rating.
Trubisky is not quite as bad as Cutler in rivalry games, but you can see it from here. He’s maybe one more bad performance away.
That should give the Bears pause. When they consider Trubisky’s future as a starter this offseason, they have to wonder: is his ceiling high enough to beat the Packers on a consistent basis? If not, they need to find someone who can.
In 25 drives against the Packers this season, Trubisky led the Bears to exactly one touchdown. It came Sunday, with eight minutes to play and the Bears down by 15.
Trubisky has marched the Bears to three field goals against the Packers this year — and four turnovers. The Bears went three-and-out, or worse, six times.
Nagy’s play-calling against the Packers did Trubisky no favors. For Christmas, the quarterback should ask his coach for a competent run game. But the quarterback’s statistics jump off the page, and have to concern the Bears. Are those the numbers of a player who rises to the occasion in the most important games of the year?
This season was a step back for the quarterback, in so many ways. In his first year with Nagy, Trubisky led the Bears to four touchdowns, four field goals and two turnovers in 21 drives against the Packers. The Bears’ offense was responsible for 40 points against the Packers last year — and 16 this season.
How the Bears play against the Packers matters.
Dick Jauron went 2-8 against them, Dave Wannstedt 1-11. Marc Trestman’s 55-14 loss to the Packers after a bye set so embarrassed the McCaskey family that it set into motion his firing — and that of general manager Phil Emery — in 2014.
Quarterback Mike Glennon’s two interceptions and two lost fumbles at Lambeau Field led directly to his benching — and Trubisky’s NFL debut the next game — in 2017.
Coach John Fox’s fate was all-but-sealed by the Bears’ ninth game that season, when the Packers traveled to Soldier Field. It provided the defining moment of his Bears career: he called for a replay review, thinking Benny Cunningham scored a touchdown when dove for the end zone at the front right pylon. The officials obliged, looked at the screen and gave the Packers the ball. Cunningham had, in fact, fumbled through the back of the end zone.
Those plays remained etched in Bears fans’ minds. Trubisky’s will live there, too, with no chance to fix them until next season.
If he’s lucky.
