Chicago Bears do little to help Trubisky
If the Chicago Bears don't eliminate the self-inflicted wounds and questionable decisions that are largely responsible for their 1-4 record, it doesn't matter whether Mike Glennon or Mitch Trubisky or Tom Brady starts at quarterback.
Trubisky had a hand in 2 of the crucial turnovers that contributed to the 20-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. Both came deep in Bears territory, but a little help from coaches and teammates could have eliminated them.
"We can't put him in those positions," said wide receiver Kendall Wright, who led the Bears with 4 catches and 46 yards. "We had plenty of opportunities to win that game before the last minutes. We had plenty of chances in that game to win it early on."
The killer was Trubisky's only interception, which came with 2:32 left in the game. Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith's pick of a pass intended for tight end Zach Miller gave the Vikings the ball at the Bears' 28 and set up Kai Forbath's 26-yard, game-winning field goal.
Trubisky took the blame, saying: "That was basically me trying to do too much." But he never should have been put in that position as a rookie making his first start.
The Bears should have played it safer.
Starting a drive from their own 10-yard line, their chances of scoring were slim. In fact, they haven't scored a single point this season on a drive that began at or inside their own 20.
Going for the win is commendable. But trying to do it by putting it on the shoulders of a 23-year-old quarterback in his first game isn't the best way to go about it.
If the Bears had run the ball, as they already had done 29 times for 115 yards (4.0-yard average), then even if they didn't make a first down, they could have punted the ball away and left the Vikings with less than two minutes and no timeouts.
Bears coach John Fox seemed a bit defensive when asked about the ill-fated pass.
"Look, they're out there playing," he said. "It looks a little different when you're out there. He thought he had a little window to get the ball to Zach, but the DB made a good play."
Late in the second quarter, Trubisky fumbled as he was sacked from the blind side by Everson Griffen, who blew past Bears left tackle Charles Leno. The Vikings recovered at the Bears' 13.
This time the defense came up huge, limiting Minnesota to a field goal and a 3-2 lead. But after holding the Vikings to just 55 yards and 3 points in the first half, the defense gave up 245 yards and 18 points in the second.
As usual, the Bears did not force a single turnover. In five games, the defense has zero interceptions; their opponents have 6. The Bears have recovered 3 fumbles, and 1 came on special teams. They've fumbled it away six times.
On the second play of the second quarter, Jordan Howard's apparent 42-yard touchdown run would have given the Bears a 9-0 lead, but it was nullified by a questionable holding call on wide receiver Markus Wheaton.
Still, Trubisky's 20-yard TD pass to Miller early in the fourth quarter, and the razzle-dazzle, 2-point conversion run by the quarterback evened the score at 17-17.
But he should have gotten more help from his teammates and coaches.
• Outside linebacker Willie Young was placed on injured reserve with a torn triceps suffered against the Packers in Green Bay on Sept. 28.
In the first four games, Young had 7 tackles, 2 sacks and 4 quarterback hurries. Since the start of the 2014 season, Young's first with the Bears after signing as an unrestricted free agent, he has a team-best 26 sacks.
• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.