Written by: John Stocco
Twitter: @realJohnStocco
It’s year three of Mitch Trubisky and it’s still looking like a work in progress. Does it look bad? Yes. It looks horrible. He’s 33rd in touchdowns, he’s 32nd in yards per attempt, 32nd in net yards per pass attempt, 32nd in yards per completion, 31st in passer rating, 29th in QBR, 29th in passing yards per game, and 27th in completion percentage. That equals out as one of the worst quarterbacks in football. I’m still not waving the white flag on Mitch Trubisky’s career. It’s week three of the NFL season. Week one was a disaster on all counts of the offense, week two it was clear there wasn’t any confidence in Trubisky, week three has to be the week where Mitch Trubisky shows up and becomes the reason why the Bears win on Monday Night.
First let’s talk about what the Bears are bringing to the nation's capital on Monday Night. In Denver, it became obvious very early that the Broncos were going to force Trubisky to throw the ball. That’s where the Bears faced troubles. Not because Trubisky had an overall bad game, but because Chris Harris was locked in on Allen Robinson, and Justin Simmons did an excellent job of shutting down receivers all over the field, including a potential big throw down the field to Tarik Cohen that was knocked away by Simmons. The Broncos secondary played great, and the injuries to Anthony Miller and Trey Burton certainly helped them. The only good news out of the Denver game when it comes to the offense was the improvement of the offensive line which established the running game. The running backs didn’t have a fantasy football dream last week, but the Bears had a productive day on the ground. David Montgomery only rushed for 62 yards, but he scored a touchdown, and he showed the very same ability he showed in college that he can wiggle out of trouble, break out of trouble, and he showed the vision and patience to find the right hole and make the big play. When it came to big plays, the Bears looked to Cordarrelle Patterson, and when Patterson is in space he is one of the most dangerous runners in the game. Patterson got the hand off, the offensive line made a hole big enough for a semi-truck, and Patterson showed blistering speed and ran for 46 yards to set the Bears up for 6 points. Establishing the run will not only help Trubisky’s future, it will help him have a breakout game against the Redskins.
Going up against Washington, the Redskins defense is ranked towards the bottom of the league in all categories. 31st in points, 30th in yards per game, 25th in passing yards, and 31st in rushing yards. All of that should be the greatest thing for all eyes of Chicago Bears fans. The Redskins have one of the worst defenses in all of football. Josh Norman hasn’t looked like the Josh Norman of old, Jonathan Allen is dealing with a back injury, and does Landon Collins even play football anymore, or did he just take his money and stop working? That’s what it looks like, and after writing that I realize all of the excuses for the Bears offense runs out on Monday night. Against the Redskins, the Bears should dominate the running game. David Montgomery should be in for a big night on the ground, and that should start opening up the field for Mitch Trubisky. Getting the running game going so that the Bears can start running play action, to get the ball to Allen Robinson or Taylor Gabriel, and getting Trubisky out of the pocket to throw on the run so that he can find Adam Shaheen, Ben Braunecker, or Tarik Cohen in the flat. Small completed passes will start giving Trubisky the confidence to try and air it out deep against a bad defense.
I get that a win is a win, but there has to be a game where everything on offense clicks. Before the media loses faith, and before there becomes confidence issues inside Halas Hall, the Bears need a game where they dominate their opponent on both sides of the ball and have a convincing win. Mitch Trubisky needs to be the reason why the Bears win this game, and by doing that, he will win back the confidence in Chicago. Monday night in Washington should be the Bears' first convincing win of the early 2019 season.