There was complete and utter silence when Mitchell Trubisky went down with a shoulder injury in the Chicago Bears' Week 4 contest against the Minnesota Vikings. Luckily for Chicago, Chase Daniel was able to strap on his helmet and hold down the fort.
On Sunday, Daniel completed 22 of his 30 passing attempts for 195 yards and a touchdown. With the veteran quarterback impressing in Week 4, that begs the question: Is Daniel a better option at quarterback for the Bears than Trubisky?
For the most part, Chicago's offense looked lethargic through the first three games of the season with Trubisky under center. The third-year quarterback had just 579 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions this season prior to his injury.
With Trubisky, the Bears were unable to manufacture drives that led to points until they faced the Washington Redskins in Week 3. Aside from that game, Matt Nagy's offense combined to score just 19 points in the first two games.
The only reason that the Bears were 2-1 coming into Sunday's game against the Vikings was because of the defense. Then, in Week 4, the offense showed some life when Daniel replaced Trubisky after his early exit from the game.
When Trubisky was leading the offense, there was a lack of shots being taken down the field. This season, the young signal-caller averaged just four air yards on each of his completions (fifth-lowest in the NFL).
Comparatively, in Daniel's limited amount of snaps, he averaged 6.6 air yards per completion on Sunday (13th among quarterbacks). The Bears have plenty of weapons in the offense but they haven't been able to show it with Trubisky this season.
Yes, the offense didn't light up the scoreboard in Week 4 but Daniel did exactly what was asked of him. He played mistake-free football and helped manage the game where the Bears had the best chance of securing a victory.
With how good the defense has been, Chicago could probably just punt the ball on first down and play defense all game. But in reality, they just need a quarterback who can limit the mental mistakes in crucial situations.
That is where Daniel gives the Bears the best chance to accomplish what they want in 2019. Trubisky is definitely more athletic and is able to extend plays at a higher clip than Daniel.
But at the same time, he is more prone to turn the ball over and put his team into inopportune situations. Sorry Bears fans, that is why Chase Daniel is the better option at quarterback for the Bears over Trubisky.
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