After a decent start, Trubisky had the football equivalent of a blowup round vs. Packers

Whether you're a professional golfer or an amateur, there's an absolute must when putting together a solid 18 holes.

And that's to limit your blowup holes. Nothing ruins a round faster than a couple of triple bogeys ... or worse.

Dave Ragone - the Bears' passing coordinator - was taught this lesson at an early age and applies the same philosophy to quarterback play in the NFL. After all, it's awfully tough to remember the 16 good passes if 2 were returned for touchdowns.

"I was taught this as a golfer," Ragone said Monday after the Bears lost 41-25 at Green Bay. "It's not how good your good holes are. It's how good your bad holes are.

"The reality is when you play quarterback, your bad decisions you just hope aren't fatal. You hope your bad decisions land incomplete or get knocked down somehow.

"When your bad decisions end up being some sort of a turnover, then those situations start to build momentum for the defense."

With this in mind, let's take a look back and see where and why Mitch Trubisky's scorecard quickly fell apart against the Packers.

Opening 'holes'

Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor called for a rollout on the Bears' first play from scrimmage, and Trubisky threw a short pass to Allen Robinson that went for a 3-yard gain.

A simple play with a minimal result, but that's what you want when your QB hasn't started in over two months.

After a 57-yard run by David Montgomery, Trubisky makes two nice passes - both of which should have been caught. The first was a flat-out drop by TE Cole Kmet at the 1-yard line; the second a perfectly placed toss to Robinson in the end zone.

Robinson had both hands on the ball and was coming down with it, but Packers CB Kevin King dislodged it and prevented the score.

"You've got to guarantee that catch in those situations where you're in the end zone on third downs in those tight windows," said WR coach Mike Furrey. "That's for big-time players and obviously we have high expectations for A-Rob and he does too. ... That bothered him right away when he came to the sideline."

So give Trubisky a solid par-par start to his night after the Bears kicked a field goal to trim Green Bay's lead to 6-3.

The bogey man

After the Packers scored another TD to go up 13-3, Trubisky continued his solid start with an 8-yard pass to Kmet and throws to Robinson that went for 21 and 16 yards.

At this point, Trubisky is 4-for-6 for 47 yards.

Then, on first-and-10 from the Packers' 38, Trubisky fakes a handoff to Montgomery and settles into the pocket while enjoying perfect protection from the offensive line.

We all know what happens next: Trubisky goes for the hero shot and plunks the ball right into the water ... or in this case, the hands of Green Bay's Darnell Savage.

As it turns out, the smart play would have been to hit Montgomery in the flat. He was wide open with one man to beat. Worst-case scenario, it would have been about a 5-yard gain, but it easily could have gone for 15 or more.

The shanks

Trubisky's night went completely off the rails on the next possession when he fumbled on third-and-8 and watched helplessly as Preston Smith returned it for a touchdown to give the Packers a 27-3 lead.

That was the equivalent of Tiger Woods' 10 on the 12th hole in the final round of the Masters.

From there, it got worse. There was a second interception. Passes were short-hopping receivers. And Trubisky ran out of bounds for a 3-yard sack when he could have thrown the ball away.

It was like watching a golfer who doubts their game completely lose it after a decent start. You start questioning your swing mechanics, decision making - everything.

"We talk about target line a lot," said quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo. "When a quarterback drops, if he takes a straight drop, you're throwing straight ahead. You've got to set your target line early - getting your hips and your feet over toward the side that you're throwing. ...

"Mitch's target line did suffer as the game went along a little bit."

Trubisky figures to get another chance when the Bears host the Lions on Sunday.

That's an opponent where a QB can definitely put up a birdie barrage - something Trubisky desperately needs if he wants to salvage his flagging NFL career.