This Sunday afternoon matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and
Chicago Bears wasn't about records. Coming into the game, the 49ers were 1-10 and the Bears were 3-8. Obviously playoffs aren't happening. And while I would love to give a shout out and welcome to
former Bears legend Robbie Gould for returning to Soldier Field, it wasn't about him, either. It was about a fascinating duel between two young quarterbacks who will likely be linked throughout their careers: Jimmy Garoppolo and Mitch Trubisky.
By now, we all know the Trubisky story -- no need to beat a dead horse. But the Garoppolo story is more fascinating.
Garoppolo burst onto the scene last year when he started in place of the suspended Tom Brady in New England. He made three starts, playing incredibly well before he got hurt versus Miami. But that didn't stop speculation from starting about when he would replace Brady in New England. However, with the GOAT playing out of his mind upon his return, leading the Patriots to another Super Bowl title, and showing absolutely zero signs of slowing down, Garoppolo suddenly became one of the hottest commodities on the QB market.
The Bears were certainly interested in the Chicago-area native who, by the way, grew up a Bears fan. But when draft-time rolled around, the Patriots weren't interested in dealing Garoppolo, with many saying Chicago would have had to part with their prized third-overall pick. Such a steep price for a QB who was an impending free agent post-2017? Ryan Pace wasn't about to let that happen. So the Bears passed on that opportunity and turned that, along with a couple other picks into their quarterback of the future: Trubisky.
Fast forward to this season's trade deadline, and the Patriots suddenly reversed course, apparently dangling Garoppolo as trade bait. The 49ers, with a new regime and head coach, traded their second-round pick in 2018 (a very high one, mind you), and turned it into a chance to audition Garoppolo on the cheap. If he plays well, San Francisco will have decisions to make in the offseason (sign him long term despite limited experience? Franchise tag?), but the right to make those decisions is what they coveted, so they made the deal.
So on a beautiful Sunday afternoon along the lakefront, Trubisky and Garoppolo (who despite being a Bears fan had never previously attended a game at Soldier Field growing up), took the field on Sunday to get an early glimpse of the potential spouting from both regimes' decisions. The Bears lost on a Robbie Gould game winning field goal. I loved it.
Here are my thoughts on today's game and QB matchup:
1) There's no doubt that Jimmy Garoppolo is more NFL-ready right now. Learning in a Josh McDaniels system behind the greatest QB of all time certainly helped, as did his 3.5 years of overall experience in the NFL as well. None of this is surprising. His ability to see the field is awesome, as are his mechanics. And coming to SF and Kyle Shanahan's offense certainly bodes well for him. He looks very good.
2) That isn't to say we should give up on Trubisky. He is still most certainly a work in progress. But he still doesn't have anybody to throw to, and his coaching staff is a detriment. An anchor. A liability. We need to reserve judgment until next year after Fox is fired and he's given a real chance.
3) Trubisky has dropped two snaps in two weeks.
It's most certainly frustrating, but it's not an alarming problem. It will get better.
4) It's amazing how little teams respect the Bears' passing game. Nor should they. The issue of play-calling and personnel and scheming won't get fixed until next year. Until then, the Bears will continue to run into brick walls. Poor Jordan Howard.
5) Nobody should be surprised by how stupidly and undisciplined the Bears play, though. That Roy-Robertson Harris unnecessary roughness penalty? Wow. Just wow.
6) Tarik Cohen still makes such bad decisions in the return game. But sometimes he breaks them out for touchdowns. He needs to improve his decision making, but that touchdown return exhilarating. Shades of Devin Hester.
7) The defense had an awful game. Just awful. Jimmy G played well, but this defense has been completely awful since the bye week. Danny Trevathan's return certainly helped keep this game from being a blowout, but there were still way too many wide receivers running free all game. Garoppolo carved them up. Also, Vic Fangio's defenses have sucked on third-and-long (how???) for years now. He's certainly the best coach on the Bears, but nowhere close to special as some fans seem to think. There's a reason Ryan Pace is reportedly not considering him for the head coaching gig.
8) Pretty great game for Kyle Fuller overall. He bounced back after a rough few showings since the bye week. He picked off Garoppolo and showed off some good open field tackling today. Good to see him get back on track a little bit.
9) Bears need more EDGE rushers. This is your weekly reminder: Expect this to be a heavy target in the draft.
10) Bears getting dominated in the trenches has become a weekly thing, unfortunately. Not good. They won't win a lot of games that way.
11) The Robbie Gould game-winning field goal made so much sense. I was anticipating it, and I'm so happy it happened. So poetic. There is no reason John Fox should still have his job after this loss. A loss, by the way, to the previously ONE WIN, WOEFUL 49ers. But we said the same thing after Green Bay. And after Philadelphia. He may very well finish the year as Bears coach, but count this as another day crossed off on the Fire-Fox Calendar.
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