Rams Give Mitchell Trubisky Rare Shot at Redemption
It took four weeks for the Bears and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to sink from defending division champ into the great mass known as NFL mediocrity.
It doesn't mean they have to accept this status quietly, and because of their win over Detroit they are presented Sunday night with a rare opportunity to both regain swagger as well as rekindle the notion they could be a potential playoff team.
"Whether we need to reprove it or not, one game is never enough in the NFL no matter what you do," running back Tarik Cohen said. "You can break a record and then it's still is not enough to win a season."
Beating the Los Angeles Rams on their own field as heavy underdogs, playing effective offense against Aaron Donald, shutting down Todd Gurley, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Goff, all would elevate the Bears in a way not much else can.
It's their last best chance to grab onto a life preserver for 2019.
Particularly on offense, the Bears need to show their short scoring outburst against Detroit was no fluke, that Trubisky can start hot and stay hot.
"We think we're getting incrementally better like I've used all year long," coach Matt Nagy said. "And there for a little bit we weren't, and I do feel the last couple weeks in a lot of areas we are improving and that's all you can do right now is just keep controlling that and just keep trying to go.
"And you saw some bursts this year. We just want more of it."
A burst was enough to break their fall against Detroit .
"It was definitely a building block," wide receiver Allen Robinson said.
The Bears (4-5) have never experienced both redemption and a major upset victory while playing under Nagy or with Trubisky at quarterback. The closest might have been their win last December over the Rams. They would undoubtedly realize both now by giving the Rams (5-4) their fifth loss in seven games.
"Sometimes you're going to go through some tough times and as long as you stick together and fight through it then sometimes it ends up callusing you a little bit mentally and physically for down the road," Nagy said.
Trubisky, then, should be callused to the hardness of diamonds.
Talk outside Halas Hall for two weeks has more or less discounted Trubisky as a failure to be replaced by Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater, Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick ... insert name of any available healthy arm here.
Trubisky realizes this talk is out there even if he shuts off TVs, and needs better than last week's 16 of 23 and 173 yards to silence it.
"Just, it was nice to go out there and do my job but we've still got some stuff we've got to clean up and I'd like to see the offense continue to evolve this week," Trubisky said.
The defense also stopped a slide last week, even if it was against a backup quarterback. They coughed up yardage chunks since losing Akiem Hicks to injured reserve in Week 5.
Keeping Goff, Kupp and Gurley at bay now without injured defensive leader Danny Trevathan would go beyond making a statement. Doing it without the aid of the Bear-Raid siren, and without the biting cold assisting them as in last year's 15-6 win over the warm-weather Rams would boost confidence all the more.
"I know last year it was pretty cold here for them, so I know that had some factor into it," cornerback Prince Amukamara said. "But it's going to be great to play them at their home and I'm sure they want a little revenge."
Nagy, Trubisky and the Bears have been confronted with all types of challenges in nine games.
"One of the things that goes on in winning and losing is—and this is great advice that I have heard from several people—whenever you win it's usually not as good as you think it is and when you lose it's usually not as bad as you think it is," Nagy said.
The Bears actually must prove it wasn't as bad as everyone thought when they won last week, and do it against a Super Bowl team.
If they do, real hope resurfaces.
Twitter@BearsOnMaven
