CHICAGO — Much-maligned Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky broke out of a season-long slump and fired three touchdown passes in Chicago’s 20-13 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Trubisky’s three touchdown throws occurred over the span of five attempts. Prior to that, Trubisky had two touchdown passes in his previous 134 attempts, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
After another shaky start where the Bears offense picked up just one first down in the first quarter, Trubisky finally got the team going when he lofted a perfectly thrown 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Braunecker right before halftime.
Trubisky later completed touchdown passes to running back Tarik Cohen (nine yards) and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (24 yards).
The 25-year old quarterback finished the game 16-of-23 for 173 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 131.0.
The second overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft, Trubisky has been under heavy scrutiny most of the year. He entered Week 10 with only 1,217 passing yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. A formidable runner in each of the past two seasons, Trubisky had carried the ball just 11 times for 46 yards while taking 17 sacks.
Trubisky’s 34.8 QBR ranked 30th among qualified quarterbacks.
Chicago’s offense managed 9 total net yards in the first half of last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and did not record a first down until under a minute left until halftime. It has ranked near the bottom of most statistical categories throughout 2019.
On Sunday, the Bears offense sputtered for most of the opening 30 minutes but sprang to life in the third quarter courtesy of Trubisky, who had his second three-touchdown performance of the season.
The Bears (4-5) travel to Los Angeles next week for a prime-time game against the Rams.