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Mitchell Trubisky took a leap forward in 2018 with the Chicago Bears. At least, compared to his rookie season he took a big step forward.
Trubisky helped lead the Bears into the playoffs after going 12-4 during the regular season. Unfortunately, their run was cut short after Cody Parkey missed a field goal that would've allowed the Bears to play in the Divisional Round.
All of the blame seemed to have been placed on Parkey while no one brought up the fact that the offense only managed to score 15 points. Parkey also accounted for nine of those points, so the offense is just as much to blame as the kicker.
Trubisky had a decent year in 2018, but there's always room for improvement. Here are three improvements that the third-year quarterback will need to make in 2019 with Chicago.
3. Protecting Himself
One of the best sayings you'll hear in football is: the best ability is availability. That saying holds true for every position — especially quarterback.
Without a talented quarterback, your team is going to fall short of the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl. The Bears need Mitchell Trubisky to remain on the field if they hope to obtain their goal of winning a title in 2019.
Last season, Trubisky missed two games due to injury. In those two games, Chicago went 1-1 — losing one of their games in overtime to the New York Giants.
That game cost them the chance of having a first-round bye instead of the Los Angeles Rams. The Bears know that every game matters, and they need Trubisky to protect himself when he's running to play in every game possible
2. Accuracy
In his rookie season, Mitchell Trubisky completed just 59.4% of his attempted passes. He drastically improved his completion percentage in 2018 with 66.6% of his passes being completed.
But there's still room to improve in that area of his game. In 2018, there was a three-game stretch where he completed just 54 of his 99 passing attempts (54.5 completion percentage).
Other weeks he was phenomenal like Week 9 where he was 23-for-30 against the Detroit Lions. He has to be more consistent with his accuracy if he hopes to take another step forward in his game.
Having someone like Matt Nagy and having weapons like Tarik Cohen and Allen Robinson should help that. Although he improved his accuracy in 2018, Trubisky will want to keep his development trending upwards in that aspect of his game.
1. Decision-Making
The biggest need for improvement for Mitchell Trubisky is his decision-making. Whether it's the decision to run or pass or simply where to throw the ball — he needs to improve in this area.
Trubisky's athleticism can be a gift and a burden for the Bears. Some plays the mobile quarterback may make a play with his legs that pays off, but others may cost the team games.
A lot of mobile quarterbacks have the utmost confidence in themselves to make plays with their legs. Sometimes they get themselves into a situation where they lose yards just trying to make a play instead of throwing it away.
In 2018, Trubisky had 12 interceptions after having seven of them in 2017. Although, he only started in 12 games in his rookie season in 2017.
The Bears' franchise quarterback has also fumbled it 16 times over his two seasons in the NFL. Protecting the ball needs to be a priority for the third-year signal-caller in 2019.
If Trubisky can improve on these few things, the Bears become an even more dangerous team in the NFL. If he doesn't, they could likely fall flat on their faces.
