With the Houston Texans traveling to Chicago to take on the Bears this Sunday, the meeting brought to light yet again the decision of Bears general manager Ryan Pace to trade up for Mitchell Trubisky in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft with Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson – the Texans passer – on the board.
Yet early it is Trubisky and the Bears who have the run of things.
Chicago extended their lead to 14-0 on this red zone fade route from Trubisky to tight end Jimmy Graham:
.@MTrubisky10 is 8-for-8 and finds @TheJimmyGraham for the score! #DaBears
📺: #HOUvsCHI on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/tvMsTDEOAi pic.twitter.com/zs5S4wrdcw— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2020
This is a well-designed concept from Matt Nagy. The Bears put a quads formation to the right side, and complement that with a Y-Iso look to the left with Graham alone flexed towards the boundary. That gives the quarterback the choice presnap of either taking advantage of the numbers on the right, or the matchup with Graham on the left. Here, the Texans have 5’11” safety Eric Murray matched up with the tight end, so Trubisky takes his shot on the fade route.
Two other decisions by Pace have also factored into the early going, with Khalil Mack forcing a Duke Johnson fumble and running back David Montgomery scampering for a long touchdown run. Yet it is the decision to select Trubisky – as good has he has been in the early going – that will likely seal Pace’s fate come January.
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