The Chicago Bears were undoubtedly one of the most surprising teams of the 2018 NFL season. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is well aware that expectations are now higher than ever.
The Bears took the NFL by storm after dominating the NFC North en route to the playoffs. Trubisky said during an appearance on PFT Live
“All those expectations that we overachieved [last season] were external,” Trubisky said. “We knew what we had in the locker room. We knew how many games we could win. We felt like every week we were in it. We felt like we should’ve won more games than we did last year. The pressure, that’s from outside forces as well. We’re just going to control what we can control, go one game a week. Whether people believed in us, they think we should hit this number of wins or what, they didn’t last year. We know what we’re capable of. We know what we have in the locker room. We’re a very confident group. We’re excited for this year. The bar is definitely set higher. We know that. It’s not from who’s setting that expectation on the outside. We’re setting that standard for our self. We’re going to go chase it and get after it. We’re very pumped.”
There is certainly plenty of truth to Trubisky's comments. Although Chicago had been in rebuilding mode over the last several years, they managed to accrue quite the crop of young talent. The kicked things up a notch with the arrival of head coach Matt Nagy on defensive end Khalil Mack and never looked back.
The Bears' defense proved to be one of the most formidable units in the league. More importantly, Trubisky finally started to show signs of promise as a franchise quarterback. He threw for 3,323 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions en route to his first Pro Bowl. The former second overall pick will be looking to show that he is much more than just a game manager moving forward.
It is safe to say that the Bears will no longer be taking any teams by surprise. Any success they enjoy this year will largely hinge on Trubisky's performance.
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