The Bears' 2019 season, one that seemed all but over after Week 9's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, received an injection of life in Sunday's 20-13 victory over the Lions. The win did more than just move the Bears' record to 4-5 and keep them in the hunt for an NFC wild card; it may have been the kind of performance from Mitch Trubisky that keeps him in the quarterback conversation in 2020.
Trubisky finished Sunday's game completing 16-of-23 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns, a stat line that isn't jaw-dropping but is still remarkable for a third-year quarterback who's struggled to look like he belongs all season. For the Bears, it was a glimmer of hope that Trubisky is capable of turning the corner and can eventually become a consistent game-manager with some big-time throw upside.
Still, it's only one game. And it wasn't even a full game; Trubisky struggled to move the ball in the first half and really only looked comfortable on a handful of series, which happened to end in touchdowns.
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Regardless, it would be negligent for Ryan Pace to assume the quarterback situation in Chicago is solved after one mediocre performance from a player who's underperformed through 34 starts. At some point, a player simply is who he is, and there have been enough throws from Trubisky (1,003 to be exact) to have a pretty strong feeling about what his ceiling is. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear very high.
Week 10 launched a new contender for the Bears' 2020 quarterback gig who prior to Sunday's games was on the outside looking in: Tennessee's Ryan Tannehill.
Tannehill, like Trubisky, has first-round pedigree and enjoyed some moderate levels of success during his six seasons in Miami. Now, he's finding ways to win games for the Titans since taking over for Marcus Mariota. He's 3-1 as a starter this season and has 92 career starts on his resume.
Tannehill would bring experience, arm talent and the kind of athletic ability to be a perfect fit in Matt Nagy's offense. In fact, he'd profile very similar to Alex Smith, who rejuvenated his career when he joined the Chiefs under Andy Reid (and Nagy).
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Tannehill's started half the number of games as Trubisky this season and has more than 100 fewer pass attempts, yet he's thrown for the same number of touchdowns (eight) and is just 230 yards behind. His yards per attempt (8.4) crushes Trubisky's 5.9. Simply put, if he was under center in Chicago right now, the Bears would probably have a few more wins in their record.
Tannehill is heading toward unrestricted free agency this offseason, but his big-time win over the Chiefs in Week 10 that featured several big-time throws may have the Titans pondering a multi-year contract before the season ends.
Bears' Quarterback Big Board (11/12/2019)
1. Andy Dalton (Bengals)
previous: 1 (11/5)
2. Cam Newton (Panthers)
previous: 3 (11/5)
3. Marcus Mariota (Titans)
previous: 2 (11/5)
4. Ryan Tannehill (Titans)
previous: Outside looking in (11/5)
5. Jake Fromm (Georgia)
previous: 4 (11/5)
6. Nick Foles (Jaguars)
previous: 5 (11/5)
Outside looking in...
Mitch Trubisky (Bears)
previous: outside looking in (11/5)
Teddy Bridgewater (Saints)
previous: 6 (11/5)
Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma)
previous: outside looking in (11/5)
Jameis Winston (Buccaneers)
previous: outside looking in (11/5)
Jacob Eason (Washington)
previous: outside looking in (11/5)
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