Mitch Trubisky, Bears offense playing with ‘strong, quiet confidence’

The day the Bears declined the fifth-year option on quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s rookie contract last spring, Trubisky knew the future was in his hands.

The Bears were not willing to commit $24 million to the former No. 2-overall draft pick for the 2021 season. They traded for veteran Nick Foles and announced an open quarterback competition in training camp.

“There’s just a little switch that flipped in the beginning where I just had to get that edge a little bit to where I’ve got to take control of my own destiny,” Trubisky said.

That opportunity, of course, didn’t last long for Trubisky. Though he won the starting job out of training camp, head coach Matt Nagy benched him midway through Week 3.

The 2020 season has been a wild ride for Trubisky. Now, to the surprise of many, Trubisky is playing his best football down the stretch and the Bears are still in the playoff hunt entering a Week 16 matchup with Jacksonville.

Back on Nov. 27, speaking publicly for the first time since he was benched months earlier, Trubisky said he was “caught off guard” by his benching and that he had been “blind sided.”

He used that energy to attack his responsibilities as the scout team quarterback and focus on what he could control.

“That’s probably one of the biggest things in this whole story is him being able to stay positive through a negative situation,” Nagy said Wednesday. “He really has taken it on. He’s put it completely on himself. There’s no other distractions with him right now. He’s just making sure that he does everything he can to keep plugging away.”

Sometimes adversity can be good. A solid run game and an improved offensive line can help dramatically, too.

Over the last three weeks, the Bears are moving the ball down field with an ease not seen in Chicago since stretches of 2018. The Bears have catered the playbook to Trubisky’s strength, too, rolling him out of the pocket and giving him easy options in the passing game. His running threat gives the Bears offense a dimension that Foles simply couldn’t replicate.

In doing so, Trubisky has made any future decisions about re-signing him to a new contract much tougher to sort out for the Bears front office.

Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone formerly served as quarterbacks coach and has a long history with Trubisky dating back to his rookie year under John Fox. Ragone said he doesn’t believe Trubisky is thinking about the future beyond this season.

“He sees this as a great opportunity to go out with another chance to play football,” Ragone said. “I don’t think he’s looking at what the future holds. You can tell he loves his teammates, his teammates love him. You can see it on some of the plays that happen, just the joy that all those guys have for each others’ success.”

Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said Trubisky is speaking up and giving his input into the offense more than he had been previously. Lazor said it can be hard for some players to speak up when they don’t like a particular play.

With Trubisky, who has a long history with Nagy at this point, it’s not that way. At least, not at this point – in year three together, with nothing left to lose.

“I have great confidence that if Mitch really isn’t feeling something, he’ll say it,” Lazor said. “He’ll just say it. It’s not a big deal. That communication is what you strive for with professional players.”

Trubisky said he feels “very comfortable” in the offense right now and he’s excited to see his teammates growing each week.

After a disastrous pair of interceptions at Green Bay on Nov. 29, Trubisky has kept his passing attempts in the short-to-medium range and thrown only one interception over the past three games.

In the huddle, Trubisky senses an excitement from his teammates when the offense steps onto the field.

“There’s just a strong, quiet confidence about us that all 11 guys in the huddle are going to get the job done,” Trubisky said. “We just have a lot of trust that we can go down, move the ball and score.”