After finishing his fourth regular season after starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Mitchell Trubisky has tried hard enough to get his team to the playoffs. This will be Trubisky’s second playoff appearance in three seasons. This is something only done in three other quarters in franchise history since 1970.
Three other quarterbacks to start the playoff game for the Bears in several different seasons were Jim McMahon (3), Mike Tomcock (2) and Rex Grossman (2).
The man who was not on that list was that many people were Jay Cutler. Cutler, who was at the center for 102 games in eight seasons, only made it to the playoffs once. In fact, he only had a winning record in three of the eight seasons that the Bears were quarterbacks.
Things have changed at the center under Trubisky. Although many have called for it to be his last season in Chicago, he has already had more success at the center than those who preceded him. So, how does Trubisky stack up against Cutler? Let’s go through both rounds of our first four seasons with the team.
In 2009, Byers did a franchise-changing trade to get Cutler as his signal-caller. Cutler then signed a five-year contract worth $ 50.37 million for 26 years.
During Cutler’s first four seasons, he started in 56 games, going 34-22 (.607). He threw 82 touchdowns, 64 interceptions for 12,292 yards and an 81.9 passer rating.
Cutler had won three of his first four seasons, one with a playoff berth. That lone playoff berth came in 2010, where he led the BFC to the NFC Championship.
In Trubisky’s first four seasons as a Bears quarterback, he is 29-21 (.580) as a starter, for 64 touchdowns, 37 interceptions for 10,609 yards and an 87.2 passer rating.
Trubisky began his second playoff game against the Saints this Sunday, which would give him two playoff seasons in three years, more than Cutler’s entire Beers career.
Trubisky’s loss in comparison is that he committed a vanilla offense during his rookie season. At the age of 23, Trubisky was thrown into wildfire with a reconstruction offense that was no weapon. He was not throwing the ball much.
Outside of Trubisky’s rookie season, he had a winning record every season. This is three straight winning seasons for Trubisky, which Cutler made in his second to fourth season as a bouncer quarterback.
In the winning season for both quarterbacks, Cutler threw 27-13, 55 touchdowns and 37 interceptions with an 84.3 passer rating. Trubisky, on the other hand, is 25-13 with 57 touchdowns and 30 interceptions with an 89 toucher rating.
Not only is Trubisky statistically better than 2–4 years, but she has still taken the Bears to the playoffs twice. It is fair to say that Trubisky is seen as a player.
Now the question is, has Trubisky taken much heat from the media and fans alike? The simple answer is yes. Trubisky has been very good with fans, media and all the right things. He has been beating Cutler since his rookie season, and it is difficult to make an argument that the team did not pursue him.
At the end of the day, fans and media are missing clean and clear points. Trubisky is the better quarterback. He does not turn the ball as much as Cutler did, and he is still a better leader.
No matter what happens at the playoffs, Beers will be a tough place for this offseason. The quarterback pool is very thin in free agency and they are likely to miss the boat on some top-tier quarterback prospects.
So, the question is, has Trubisky played his last home game at Soldier Field? Or will he be their starting quarterback next season? The result on Sunday against the Saints could answer that question.
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