Mitchell Trubisky must finish season strong to sway opinion

The Chicago Bears aren’t making the playoffs. Mitchell Trubisky and his poor play are a huge reason why. With six games left, the rest of the season is about the next one. Trubisky has a half-dozen games to prove why he’s worthy of another chance come 2020.

General manager Ryan Pace moved up to No. 2 overall for Trubisky in 2017. He could have nabbed Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson, men who respectively went eight and 10 selections later. Instead, he took Trubisky, the prospect from North Carolina with a high floor and a low ceiling. So far, the floor and ceiling are both lowering at staggering rates.

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Through eight games (nine if you want to count a series against the Minnesota Vikings before being hurt), Trubisky has thrown for 1,580 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions. Simple math says he’s one pace for 3,160 yards and 18 touchdowns over a full season. If this were 1979, fantastic. But it’s not. It’s 2019. Some quarterbacks have already surpassed those marks and we haven’t reached Thanksgiving.

With the New York Giants and their 2-8 record coming to Chicago on Sunday, Trubisky has a chance to gain some momentum. Despite being forced to leave last weekend’s loss to the Los Angele Rams in the fourth quarter with a hip injury, Trubisky is getting the start. He needs to be the best version of himself, shredding a defense that hasn’t stopped anybody from throwing short or long.

Four days later, he gets the Detroit Lions. The Lions are also out of the race, hampered by injuries and a familiar for. Again, Trubisky needs to play well, especially on a national stage.

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While nothing he or the team does is going to change the outcome of this season — a miserable failure considering the Bears were supposed to be challenging for a Super Bowl — Trubisky can sway opinion about his future.

Next year would be the final season of his rookie deal should the team decide against exercising his fifth-year option.Right now, that seems likely. However, a good finish to the campaign could cause Pace to back his guy once more, doubling down on Trubisky and exercising the non-guaranteed fifth year.

After being awful to this point, Trubisky has the opportunity to perhaps alter Chicago’s plans. Maybe they don’t bring in a veteran to compete with him in 2020 if these next six tilts give the Bears reason to believe in their franchise quarterback.

If we don’t see any improvement, Trubisky and the Bears both know what is coming next.