Despite the Bears' brutal start to the 2019 season, which has been lowlighted by an excruciatingly frustrating offense, there remains no quarterback controversy in Chicago. Coach Matt Nagy is doing his best to sell the offense's struggles as belonging to all 11 starters, not just Mitchell Trubisky, and has refused to entertain the thought of a switch under center.
It's a tough sell, to say the least, and NBC Sports' Peter King isn't buying.
"I'd play Chase Daniel right now," King told Dan Patrick on Wednesday. "You just have to say we're giving Mitch some downtime.
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"Mitchell Trubisky, there were times when they locked in on his face (against Philadelphia) where he looked like he was in an oral surgeon's chair without novocaine. This has got to be incredibly uncomfortable for him."
It's been uncomfortable for everyone, including Bears fans who are living with the reality that Trubisky was Ryan Pace's choice over DeShaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes.
"Imagine you're Mitchell Trubisky," King said. "You're a nice guy, everybody loves you, you go to North Carolina and you play for one year and one year only, and you're pretty good. Who knows how great you are because they haven't seen all that much of you, but a team chooses you high in the first round and it just happens to be in Chicago where all the fans want is for you to be better than Jim McMahon and the next Michael Jordan. They want a savior at quarterback and when you're drafted No. 2 overall, there are great expectations."
A savior would be fantastic, but at this point, all Bears fans are really hoping for is a consistent quarterback who can complement a potentially Super Bowl-caliber defense. Unfortunately, this isn't anything new in Chicago. Jay Cutler didn't exactly live up to expectations prior to Trubisky's arrival, nor did Rex Grossman (another first-round bust) who despite starting during the last Bears' Super Bowl run in 2006-07 was best known for his fumblitis.
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And while a playoff berth seems highly unlikely after a 3-5 start, King thinks there's still time to turn around what was once a promising season. But in order to do that, Daniel needs to get a shot.
"I don't think that Matt Nagy has to say the words other than we just think this week, right now, Chase Daniel gives us a better chance to win," King said.
"One more loss, right about now, and I say it's over. But it's not over right now. If they win the next couple of weeks, as unlikey as it sounds, they're still in it. And so, I think you have to do what is the best thing for you to win this game and this game only."
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