UNC Football Alumni: Mitch Trubisky tosses 6 touchdowns in Bears win

Bears sophomore quarterback throws 6 touchdowns en route to career day

Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw seven touchdowns during his underwhelming rookie season in 2017. He nearly matched that in just one game on Sunday, tossing six touchdowns in a blowout victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Trubisky became the second-youngest NFL quarterback to throw for six touchdowns in a game, and broke a franchise record for most TD passes in a game during the Super Bowl era. And he needed less than a half-hour of game time to do it.

The former Tar Heel completed 19-of-26 passes for 354 yards and no interceptions, while connecting with five different receivers for touchdowns. He posted career-high numbers in metrics like QBR and passer rating, 98.9 and 154.7, respectively. And in just one game, he passed Rex Grossman in the hearts and minds of every Chicago Bears fan in the world.

Perhaps, Trubisky also gave Chicago fans a reason to be hopeful for the future of the franchise, too. Many were already calling him a bust, suggesting that the Bears’ decision to trade up for him in the 2017 draft was a bad one.

After all, it’s Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who the Bears could have had without trading up a pick, that has been setting the league on fire this season. And it’s Mahomes who set the league record for youngest quarterback to throw six touchdowns in a game just two weeks ago.

But maybe both teams have found their signal-caller of the future. Sunday’s game in Chicago sure made it look more that way than we thought a week ago.

It goes without being said that six-touchdown games are the anomaly for both Trubisky and Mahomes. And anyone else in the history of the league, for that matter. But maybe the half-dozen TD game that Trubisky put together on Sunday is more like the one Bears fans can expect in the future.

For more on Trubisky and all the UNC alumni in the NFL, stick with Keeping It Heel.