Mitchell Trubisky Officially Named Starter Vs. Packers
Matt Nagy confirmed the obvious.
The Bears coach on Friday officially named Mitchell Trubisky the starting quarterback for Sunday night's game against the Packers at Lambeau Field.
"I think he's an extremely competitive person that realizes what he's gone through and where he's at," Nagy said. "He's worked hard to get back to this point so that if and when the opportunity does comes, he doesn't need to say anything. He's shown it by his actions and even before this week.
"So now that when he has an opportunity here, I think this kid is just excited to get back out there. I don't like to make any predictions, but I like the way he's practiced all week."
Trubisky is the healthier of two injured quarterbacks.
Trubisky took all the first-team snaps throughout the week but Nagy kept stopping short of calling him the starter, just in case Nick Foles was able to make a late-week return from a hip-glute injury. Foles is doubtful for Sunday's game.
Without Foles practicing, it seems unlikely he'd be a backup but it's still possible, Nagy said. Tyler Bray could also serve in that capacity.
Nagy said this move to Trubisky wasn't necessarily for the rest of the season, but is focused on this week's game.
"We really have to focus on Mitch as the starter for Green Bay and then who knows health-wise where Nick's at and where Mitch is at, and then we'll play that course and we'll play that decision next week when we get to that," Nagy said. "We're excited that Mitch is ready and it's an opportunity for him."
The Bears are trying to end a four-game losing streak and trail the Arizona Cardinals by a game in the battle for the final wild-card spot. They are two games behind the Packers in the NFC North in the loss column.
Trubisky suffered a right shoulder injury Nov. 1 against New Orleans while he ran on a zone-read, his only play since being benched against Atlanta in Week 3. Foles's glute-hip injury occurred on a sack in the fourth quarter against Minnesota late in a 19-13 loss on Nov. 16.
Trubisky was surprised when he was pulled from the lineup in the third quarter against Atlanta during Week 3.
"I think more than anything I was caught off guard," Trubisky said Friday in his first press conference since his demotion. "I think in the beginning of the season I was just starting to build some momentum and then it kind of felt like a blind-side.
"Then I decided to embrace the new role. And the first couple of days it sucked being in that role, but I was trying to just keep perspective and think long term."
The Bears are 2-5 with Foles as starter and won the game against Atlanta when he came on in relief for Trubisky, as he rallied them from 16 down in the fourth quarter. Foles has completed 202 of 311 for 1,852 yards with 10 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 81.0.
Trubisky is 51 of 86 for 560 yards with six touchdowns, three interceptions and a passer rating of 87.4. The Bears were 2-0 with Trubisky starting, and he rallied them from 17 down in the fourth quarter to win the opener in Detroit.
A key in all of this is how they ran the ball better with a more mobile Trubisky playing quarterback. They averaged 138 yards a game rushing and were over 100 yards in each game. They haven't hit 100 team rushing yards since then with Foles starting.
However, the rushing yards in those first three games came against teams who currently have a combined record of 10-21. The current Bears losing streak came against some of the league's better defenses.
With Trubisky starting against Green Bay, the Bears own a 1-4 record.
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