The day after the Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky second overall in 2017, the quarterback went to a Bulls playoff game. When the team showed video of him on the United Center scoreboard, fans booed.
The Giants drafted Daniel Jones No. 6 overall this year. When attended a Yankees game in June, he was booed, too.
Both could blame their circumstances — the Bears traded four picks to move up and draft the North Carolina product over, among others, Clemson star Deshaun Watson. The Giants used the first of their two picks to draft Jones — who went to Trubisky’s rival, Duke — when many thought they could wait and take him No. 17.
When the two enter Soldier Field on Sunday, whom would you rather have?
Each has played nine games. The rookie has a better passer rating (88.0 vs. 82.2) and completion percentage (63 vs. 62.4) than Trubisky. Jones has thrown more touchdowns and averages a 1.1 more yards per attempt than the Bears quarterback. Amazingly, Jones — not known as a speedster — has almost four times the rushing yards of his Bears counterpart: 208 to 58.
Trubisky is 4-5 as a starter, Jones 2-6. Trubisky has thrown half as many interceptions as Jones and taken nine fewer sacks. Unlike Jones, he has the advantage of a dominant defense that, at least until lately, has covered up many of his flaws. He has better receivers than Jones does.
For all the time and money the Bears spent to put Trubisky in the best possible position, how in the world did Jones end up in a more enviable position than Trubisky? How are the Giants better off with their quarterback than the Bears are?
Start with Eli Manning. The two-time Super Bowl MVP didn’t napalm the quarterback room when the Giants benched him after only two games this year.
“It was seamless,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said. “They got back to work. One just helped the other do his job. From that standpoint, I appreciate the professionalism that Eli has shown. …
“We’re certainly together with Daniel and the quarterbacks many hours, but there are times when they’re together alone that I’m sure there’s information shared that is very helpful for Daniel.”
No backup quarterback alive has Manning’s experience or pedigree. Chase Daniel, whom the Bears signed to mentor Trubisky, has made five career starts.
“You’ve got a quarterback as accomplished as Eli, that you’re able to sit with every day and learn the game plan together with, and he has insight,” Shurmur said. “As we go through our week, there’s certain things he’ll look at and say, ‘What do you think about this?’ Just because of his wealth of experience, that’s natural.”
Pairing Jones with perhaps the best running back on the planet helps, too. A high-ankle sprain has limited Saquon Barkley to 57.4 rushing yards per game — which ranks 19th in the NFL — but he’s the first player every opponent tries to stop.
The Bears, meanwhile, have the fourth-worst rushing attack in the NFL.
“Saquon’s been dealing with that ankle for most of the season, which has kind of hindered his full effect, I think, to some degree,” Shurmur said. “I think, generally speaking, the best friend for the quarterback is an effective and dynamic running back. As they play more and more together, I anticipate that relationship will grow.”
And then there’s Shurmur’s own relationship with his quarterback. The Bears interviewed Shurmur for the job that went to Nagy — “I enjoyed my conversations; I was honored that they’d consider me,” he said — because they valued his work with quarterbacks.
Like Nagy with Trubisky, Shurmur’s relationship with Jones will tell the story of the team’s success. At some point, Shurmur said, he’ll be able to give Jones five plays, let him pick the one that suits him best and then succeed with it.
They’re not there yet.
Amazingly, neither are the Bears.
