By Brooke Brottman

Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Mitchell Trubisky were all taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. While the Chiefs and Texans won their respective divisions again last season, it was Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago Bears who didn't qualify for the playoffs, finishing behind both the Packers and Vikings in the NFC North. So the question remains as to why the Bears traded up to draft Trubisky No. 2 overall over both Mahomes and Watson in the draft? Mitchell Trubisky checked most of the boxes when it came to starting NFL quarterbacks coming out of college, but the main concern was his limited starting experience while at North Carolina. Ryan Pace, General Manager for the Bears, thought that Trubisky was going to be the next Drew Brees. However, that has been far from the case.

Chicago Bears quarterback Nick Foles will get his first start for the Bears over Trubisky in Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts after leading the team to a comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3. Mitchell Trubisky won the starting job coming out of training camp, however, he was not able to hold on to the job very long as he was benched this past Sunday for Foles. Trubisky threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns against the Detroit Lions in Week 1 and threw for just 190 yards with two interceptions against the New York Giants in Week 2. His job as the starter was on the line as they faced Atlanta in Week 3, despite having his team undefeated through two weeks. The Atlanta Falcons have one of the worst defenses in the entire league this season and yet Trubisky still managed to struggle. Trubisky started in Sunday’s game but was benched after throwing an interception in the third quarter. Trubisky’s interception was the end of the line for him in that particularly game, as Head Coach Matt Nagy put Foles in on the very next possession.

Matt Nagy and the rest of the offensive coaching staff changed the whole offensive identity from a spread offense to a more balanced offense attack to cater more to Trubisky’s strengths. It was one last effort to see if Trubisky could manifest into the solid starting NFL quarterback that they envisioned when they selected him in 2017. In the end, all of the effort put in to try and get the best out of Trubisky did not help as we once again saw the same old Trubisky, which is a QB that will occasionally show you some flashes of why he was a second overall pick, but also why the front office chose to not pick up his fifth-year option this past offseason.

Trubisky has a lot of unique talent, but that talent has not been enough. While Nick Foles does not have the athleticism of Trubisky, what makes Foles the superior of the two is his knowledge of Nagy’s system and his understanding of coverages. He knows where to go with the football, is quick with his decision-making, and accurate with his passes. Receivers know Foles will give them a chance to make plays all over the field which was not the same with Trubisky. Trubisky had completed 13-of-21 passes for just 128 yards with one interception and a touchdown before he was removed from the game. The Bears offense struggled as a whole in the game at that point, converting on just one-of-seven third-down opportunities with Trubisky on the field. 

For Chicago fans, it is not a shock that it came down to this with the former second overall pick from the 2017 draft. The real competition was always Trubisky trying to keep Foles on the bench with his performance on the field. Did the Bears make the decision too soon? One could argue that, but Trubisky was not showing them anything truly different this year than in years past. There were some glimpses of improvement in the first two weeks, but then he can’t deliver against a bad defense. After four years it is clear that we have seen the best that Mitchell Trubisky can be in Chicago.

Nick Foles moved into the top spot with Philadelphia in 2017 after Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending injury and he ended up leading the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title. Foles was the MVP in the biggest game of the year, a 41-33 victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Foles now gets another chance to show that he is more than just a good arm out off the bench when the Bears host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Nick Foles took over for Mitchell Trubisky in the third quarter last week and threw three touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Bears were able to come back from a 16-point deficit to a 30-26 victory. The Bears would rather take their chances on a veteran quarterback who has won a Super Bowl in the hopes that he still has some of that old magic still left in him. One thing is for sure: This puts the future of both Nagy and GM Ryan Pace seriously up in the air. Their success, along with the entire Chicago Bears team, now relies solely on the arm of the eight-year veteran.

Brooke is a sports writer for La Tonique.