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The Chicago Bears notched their first win in over a month with a 20-13 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
It wasn’t a perfect win by any means, but it came when the Bears needed it most, as they advanced to 4-5 on the season and helped them cling to slim playoff hopes.
But also encouraging was oft-maligned quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s performance, where he seemed to awaken from a season-long slumber to deliver his best game of the season against a lowly Lions defense.
Trubisky’s stats weren’t otherworldly, but that didn’t matter as he came up clutch as Chicago’s offense battled back from a rough first half. If anything, he’d like to have those five sacks back.
But Trubisky completed 16-of-23 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 131.0.
“When you go through tough things, I think you’ve just got to remember why you play this game,” Trubisky said following Sunday’s game. “You just love to play this game, and you love the guys you play with. That’ll get you through anything, and just continue to stick together, feed off your teammates, and believe that you’re going to have a breakthrough, and whether you describe today as a breakthrough or not, we got the win.”
But the fact of the matter is that Trubisky played well against a Lions defense that ranked 31st in the NFL. It’s only the second game that Trubisky has played well, the other coming against another bad defense in the Washington Redskins, where he tossed three second-quarter touchdowns.
The real test will be these final seven games, where Trubisky will face some tough defenses, including the Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.
Can Trubisky build off his strong performance against the Lions? Or will he come back down to earth quickly heading into the final stretch of the season?
We’ll see Sunday when the Bears face the Rams on Sunday Night Football.
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