When the Chicago Bears (7-7) square off against the Kansas City Chiefs (10-4) on Sunday Night Football, there won’t be playoff hopes on the line for Chicago. But there will be plenty to play for.
Whether it’s Mitchell Trubisky looking to continue his streak of positive performances (and against the MVP quarterback taken after him in the NFL Draft) or Matt Nagy facing off against Andy Reid or young guys playing for starting jobs next season, there are no shortage of storylines heading into this primetime affair.
Here are four storylines to watch as the Bears face the Chiefs on Sunday.
1. Mitchell Trubisky vs. Patrick Mahomes
This isn’t necessarily a new storyline in the NFL world — the Mitchell Trubisky/Patrick Mahomes or Trubisky/Deshaun Watson comparisons. The comparisons are inevitable, and they’ll follow Trubisky through his entire NFL career.
But those comparisons will be even louder and more prominent as Trubisky and Mahomes face off for the first time on an NFL football field. And the NFL gods couldn’t have scripted it any better than on a primetime stage where all the NFL world will watch and discuss.
While the outcome of this game will have no bearing on the bigger picture — Mahomes is a special talent with a bright future in this league and Trubisky is a mixed bag whose future has yet to be determined — you’d have to imagine if Trubisky can come out and outperform Mahomes — if only once — it’ll be a source of confidence heading into 2020.