The Chicago Bears can't afford to stumble this week on Monday night. It's clear the NFC North isn't going to wait for them to sort out their issues. Green Bay is 3-0, Minnesota is 2-1, and Detroit is 2-0-1. This team must go into Washington and take care of business against the Redskins. To make that happen, they need a good game out of quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Something that has been a little too rare of late.
He's yet to top 400 yards passing for the season and doesn't have a touchdown pass. It's hard to win football games when the quarterback isn't doing his share. The team hasn't lost faith in him yet. Belief in the building is he'll figure it out eventually. It's a matter of when. Could Washington be the place? Some may be skeptical, but there are a few reasons to think that exact thing could be getting ready to happen.
Here are five that stand out the most.
Why the Chicago Bears may finally see Trubisky soar
#1: The Washington pass defense
The Redskins are in a bad way defensively. Nowhere more so than trying to defend the pass. Their rush took a major hit when Preston Smith left in the offseason for Green Bay. That leaves only an aging Ryan Kerrigan who can't do everything himself. First round pick Montez Sweat has a ton of potential but clearly needs work. Washington just hasn't been able to apply enough pressure and this has helped expose a depleted secondary.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is already done for the year. Josh Norman isn't the player he was four years ago. Quinton Dunbar is questionable with an injury as well. They're running out of guys who can cover properly. Hence why Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott both had big afternoons against them the first two weeks.
#2: Signs of improvement in Denver
If one looks at the stat line from last week, they'd say Trubisky played bad in Denver. That isn't exactly true. Chicago rolled with a highly conservative game plan last Sunday. One that focused on running the football and going for quick passes meant move the chains. It wasn't pretty by any stretch, but it proved just enough to secure a win in one of the toughest venues in the NFL to play. Trubisky didn't turn the ball over and made the big throw when it was needed. That should give a small confidence boost.
#3: Better protection
The Bears offensive line got their butts kicked in the opener against Green Bay, allowing five sacks and 19 total pressures. A humbling experience to say the least. That may explain why they took out their frustrations on the Broncos, who failed to sack or hit Trubisky once the entire game. Trubisky has shown that when he gets protected, he can be effective. Especially against pass defenses that aren't the strongest. See his games against Tampa Bay and Detroit last season for an idea.
That's not to say he'll put up those numbers, but like any normal quarterback Trubisky gets better when he's not constantly under duress. An improved offensive line mixed with an iffy Redskins pass rush sounds nice.
#4: Healthy weapons
One key ingredient that's been missing the past two weeks is a healthy Trey Burton at tight end. His value at the "U" position can't be understated. He only just returned last week from a groin issue that lingered for weeks. It appears he is rounding himself into shape and is close to 100%. The same goes for wide receiver Anthony Miller who was dogged by an ankle problem before the season began. There is no reason to think they won't be full-go in this game. That should help make Trubisky's life easier.
#5: Law of averages
Trubisky has not played well in a primetime game to this point in his NFL career. It seems to be his Achilles heel to an extent. However, nothing lasts forever. Simple mathematics would suggest that the right matchup would eventually come up where he could deliver a strong performance. It looks and feels like this could be the one. It's not a division rival. It's not a top defense. Trubisky should feel none but the usual pressure to win in this game. He tends to do well when this is the case.
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