What should Bears fans reasonably expect from whoever wins the quarterback competition this summer? Whether it's Mitch Trubisky or Nick Foles, Chicago's defense is good enough to challenge for an NFC North crown, but they'll need help from the offense, and that means the quarterback play has to be better than it was in 2020.
Let's face it, that's why the Bears have a quarterback competition to begin with. Trubisky wasn't good enough last season. Foles wasn't added via trade to simply strengthen the quarterback depth chart. He was added to inspire a career-year from the former second overall pick or to unseat him entirely.
Chicago hasn't had the best luck when it's come to the quarterback position. Jay Cutler remains the gold standard in the city, and he was 51-51 as a starter. That should tell you everything you need to know about what the Bears have lived through behind center. But 2020 feels different. All Chicago really needs is average play from their starter to make a deep playoff run.
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At least, that's what the analytics experts at Pro Football Focus are suggesting.
Week in and week out, Chicago is home to some of the worst quarterback play in the entire NFL. Nick Foles offers the most upside and has a shot at giving the Bears at least average play at the position, something the team desperately needs. He has two of the best games we have ever seen in the postseason at the position — in 2017 in the conference title game and in the Super Bowl (PFF grades of 93.8 and 92.3) — and failed to produce a 60.0 passing grade in only two of his 10 games with at least 15 pass attempts over the past two years (including postseason).
I guess it's safe to say PFF is all-in on Foles winning the starting job. At least, he's who they think should be under center in Week 1.
It's a sad that this is where we are with the Bears' quarterback situation. This is the worst-case-scenario from a 2017 draft that was supposed to provide the solution to Chicago's quarterback riddle. Instead, we're left with more questions than answers just three weeks from the 2020 opener.
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Average play. That's all the Bears need from their quarterback. Yet, it still feels like that's asking for a lot.