Mitch Trubisky impresses, leads Bills to win in return to Chicago

Mitch Trubisky made his return to Soldier Field on Saturday. The former first-round pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2017 draft, he started plenty of games at the stadium for the franchise.

But on Saturday, he made his first start at Soldier Field as a visitor. Trubisky signed with the Buffalo Bills as a free agent this offseason, and he got the start with Josh Allen sitting out Saturday’s preseason game.

Buffalo scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and added a pair of field goals with Trubisky under center. The North Carolina product was 20 of 28 for 221 yards and a touchdown as the Bills picked up a 41-15 victory in Chicago.

.@Mtrubisky10 dropping dimes. 😎

📺: WIVB + @NFLNetwork + The Bills App pic.twitter.com/cg94OI657F

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 21, 2021

“It feels good,” Trubisky said, via Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “It felt good to come back and play well and I owe a lot of that to my teammates — run after catch, great plays on defense, great plays on special teams, dominated the field position and turnover battle in the first half, and we did our job on offense and scored points. I just thought we were efficient. I feel comfortable in this offense going down and it felt good to do it against these guys.”

Remembering Mitch Trubisky’s time in Chicago

The Mitch Trubisky experience didn’t go as planned, and now the Bears are hoping Justin Fields can be the answer.

Trubisky was taken No. 2 overall in 2017 by the Bears, but he was never able to be the right fit to the jigsaw puzzle in Chicago. He took the Bears to the playoffs in 2018 and 2020, and he was the NFC North in 2018. His Pro Bowl appearance in 2018 also marked the first time since 1986 that the Bears sent a quarterback to the Pro Bowl.

After the 2018 season, his career started to go downhill. He was inconsistent, throwing 37 interceptions in his first four seasons in the league. And while he showcased what he can be at his best on Saturday, the Bears rarely got that. This past season he was benched in Week 3 in favor of Nick Foles after surrendering a 16-point lead. He signed a one-year deal to be Josh Allen’s backup after the Bears opted not to exercise Trubisky’s fifth-year option.

The Bears haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1985. And Justin Fields becomes the fourth first-round quarterback they have drafted since 1999. They’ve traded away three first-rounders when acquiring Rick Mirer and Jay Cutler, too.