Finally, a pulse
Bears no longer hibernating, but did they hit the snooze button for too long?
The last run of Mitch Trubisky’s big night Thursday — aside from a final-play kneel — was easily the most fun and a fitting exclamation point on an uplifting performance at Soldier Field. It didn’t take all that much either.
On first down from the Cowboys 23-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Trubisky read defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence crashing down on a zone-read play, kept the ball, then cut inside a perfect block from left tackle Charles Leno on safety Darian Thompson.
At that point the Bears quarterback had a surplus of green grass ahead, the benefit of his dangerous legs and one helpless defender to beat. Near the 13-yard line, Trubisky cut back toward the middle of the field. Safety Josh Jones barely got a finger on him. Three other Cowboys tried to come to the rescue but looked mostly like the flummoxed burglars from “Home Alone.”
That was that.
Trubisky was in the end zone. The crowd was going bananas. The Bears again led by three scores. And teammates were flooding to congratulate their juiced-up quarterback.
“It was the look we wanted,” Leno said. “That’s the type of look you draw up. A premier look. We were licking our chops.”
And when that look produced the offense’s fourth touchdown of the night, Trubisky remembered celebrating with Leno. He recalled Eddie Jackson lifting him in the air.
“The best part of that for me,” Trubisky said, “was how excited my teammates got. Really cool moment.”
He couldn’t help but feel the full exhilaration of that play and the entire night, a breakout performance in an encouraging 31-24 win. Trubisky threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns. And with that 23-yard run, he scored for just the second time this season.
When the situation called for it, he let his legs do some of the night’s most important work. Including the win-sealing kneel, Trubisky ran 10 times for 63 yards. In addition to the memorable touchdown run, there were four key scrambles. Five of Trubisky’s runs produced first downs.
He looked like a complete quarterback in full command, taking advantage of a Cowboys defense that left itself too vulnerable.
“There were some openings,” Trubisky said, “and I did my job of pulling the ball down and running. I thought I ran smart.”
Added coach Matt Nagy: “It was very evident that he used (his legs) as a weapon. We saw some things that we liked in regards to the run scheme.
“And, heck, whenever he’s able to use his legs like that, he becomes another running back. … They’ve got to respect that. They have to understand where he’s at. And when you make good decisions and you’re able to use your own self as a ball carrier, there are advantages across the board.”
When the Cowboys arrived at Soldier Field, Trubisky had only 80 rushing yards all season. His averages from his first 10 starts: 2.6 attempts, 8 yards.
And then Thursday night happened. Trubisky looked confident on the move. He seemed fully aware of his strengths.
That gave the Bears offense an added dimension. So did the production from the tight ends, with Jesper Horsted and J.P. Holtz combining for seven receptions and 92 yards. David Montgomery (20 carries, 86 yards) ran hard. Allen Robinson caught two Trubisky touchdown passes. Anthony Miller turned a quick-hitter catch at the start of the third quarter into a nifty 14yard touchdown.
The Bears piled up 382 yards. For the first time since early November 2018, the offense didn’t need help to score 30 points.
“I’ve talked about trying to find that identity and how we were searching for it,” Nagy said. “We finally feel like, over the last several weeks, we feel good about where we’re at. Are we perfect? No. But we feel good about it.”
Part of that identity relies on Trubisky being well-rounded, making good decisions and sharp throws consistently. But it also relies on the athletic quarterback mixing in some running. That helps create rhythm, which helps catalyze scoring drives, which helps generate confidence.
The way the offense played Thursday left Bears fans to consider a series of perplexing questions.
Where the heck has this been? Why couldn’t the Bears have discovered these offensive troubleshooting methods a few games sooner? If they had, wouldn’t the team that dominated Thursday’s game be considered a real threat to make a run deep into January?
At the very least, Thursday’s performance will revive the city’s imagination. A rivalry clash with the Packers next weekend comes with playoff chatter still alive and a quarterback riding a mini hot streak. Sure beats the alternative.
The Bears have now won four of five. Better yet, the offense is suddenly productive.
“It feels good when you put the hard work in and it comes to life out on the field,” Trubisky said. “But for me and this team, that makes us hungrier. And we continue to want that feeling week after week.”
On Thursday night, anyway, Trubisky didn’t seem to be pressing. He was just playing. Reacting. Creating.
“He’s balling out there,” Leno said. “That’s what I love to see. I don’t like when Mitch feels like he’s got to make this play or do this and do all that. No, just play ball. Be you. That dude is a baller. He’s an improviser. He makes (stuff ) happen with his legs. Go out there and do that.”
On Thursday night, Trubisky did that. The Bears won in convincing fashion. December got a little more interesting.
Now that’s how it’s supposed to be.
That’s what the Bears and their fans — and expected — back in the summer when talking Super Bowl. A dynamic, self-sufficient offense. A defense capable of answering the greatest challenges. Special teams that make winning plays instead of losing ones.
It all came together so wonderfully Thursday in the Bears’ 31-24 win over the Cowboys, which was not as close as the score indicated.
For the second straight game, Mitch Trubisky was a major reason the Bears won. He accounted for four touchdowns in front of a national prime-time audience.
The defense shut down the NFL’s topranked offense despite losing another top contributor, inside linebacker Roquan Smith, to a probable season-ending pectoral muscle injury. It amounted to the Bears’ most emphatic, complete win of 2019. Sure, it probably arrived too late to resuscitate their faint postseason pulse. But for one night on the lakefront, at least, this season felt fun.
Like, almost 2018 fun.
“You can’t fix the past,” said receiver Allen Robinson, who caught two of Trubisky’s three touchdown passes. “But we can have control of what’s in the future for us. That’s the next day. We know the situation that we’re in.”
More specifically, the Bears’ spit-andpolished three-game winning streak has them, ahem, “in the hunt.” At least, that’s the deal according to TV graphics explaining the playoff picture.
They still need the Vikings to collapse to have a shot at playing in January. But that’s not the main takeaway Thursday.
For the first time since Oct. 20, the Bears have a winning record, 7-6. This team did not fold or shatter or crumble or however else lesser groups disintegrate when a season goes wayward. That counts for something.
Between the unusually frequent singalongs to “Bear Down, Chicago Bears” at Soldier Field, you could hear incredulous voices echoing through the city, asking: “Where the heck has this been all year?”
It’s a valid question. Certainly, a tempting one to ask, given the unmet expectations of this season after last year’s magic carpet ride to 12-4.
Finding an answer won’t vault the Bears upward in the standings. But maybe it would help fans grieve this season and understand why it took 13 games for everything to click.
“It’s just the attention to detail, in my opinion,” left tackle Charles Leno said. “Our attention to detail is off the charts right now. Guys are locked in more. Guys are focused on their job. They’re not thinking about any outside noise or, ‘I messed up this play, so I’ve got to press harder.’ If they mess up one play, they move on and get the job done the next play. We’re playing carefree, honestly.”
Why couldn’t they do that earlier? Why did pressure or expectations tie them so tightly in knots?
You could bang your head against the wall trying to figure it out. Or you could just adopt a better-late-than-never perspective.
The latter, at least, was the collective mindset inside the happy home locker room as Thursday night turned to Friday morning.
“Players, they play different when you’re winning,” coach Matt Nagy said. “You play looser. You don’t press as much. Right now, the identity between the defense, the offense, it doesn’t feel like one of those deals where if we don’t hold them to under 14 points, we don’t have a chance to win.”
Trubisky exemplified that. He ran around Soldier Field and through the Cowboys like it was a schoolyard. His schoolyard.
He rushed nine times for 64 yards, excluding a victory kneeldown. Five of his runs gained a first down, including 23yard touchdown on a zone-read keeper that made it 31-14 early in the fourth quarter.
“The best part of that for me was how excited my teammates got afterward,” Trubisky said. “Really cool moment.”
Safety Eddie Jackson came off the bench to celebrate with his quarterback. Receiver Anthony Miller, who caught his first touchdown of the season earlier in the game, also joined the party.
“I told him: You’re running stuff,” Miller said. “You’re proving the doubters wrong. We’ve been rocking with him this whole time. Finally, everything is clicking.”
It’s no coincidence the Bears are ascending collectively while Trubisky is individually.
He followed his strong Thanksgiving performance against the Lions by completing 23 of 31 passes for 244 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. His rating was 115.5.
The Bears moved the ball on the opening drive, but Trubisky’s ill-advised throw on a play-action keeper to the left was intercepted by cornerback Jourdan Lewis at the Cowboys 1-yard line.
Just as he did against Lions, though, Trubisky compartmentalized the pick and proceeded to play a stellar game.
“He said, ‘Forget about it. We’re moving down on the next drive,’ ” Leno recalled. “Then what happened? Touchdown.”
In fact, four straight scoring drives followed.
On the other side of the ball, the defense recovered from an 18-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession. It gave up 58 yards total on the next five possessions, while the Bears offense pulled away.
Together, the Bears were playoff-caliber. Maybe that hurts some fans a little, given what this season might have been.
But for a team living week to week and fully embracing that approach, it felt as good as it has all year.