Week 8 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Mitch Trubisky returned to the lineup last week and was OK. He finished with 251 passing yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. But it took him 54 pass attempts to get there, and it's unlikely he'll be throwing that much moving forward. Trubisky can be good in fantasy, but he needs a favorable matchup to really make starting him worth it. That's not the case this week as he faces a Chargers defense allowing the ninth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. The Chargers are giving up the fifth-fewest passing yards per game (216.1) so don't expect much from Trubisky in Week 8. He's a weak start.
Week 7 vs. New Orleans Saints
Mitchell Trubisky is expected to return this week after missing the Bears' previous game, and having a full bye week to rest up. But his return may not mean a whole lot for fantasy purposes as the quarterback wasn't very good to open the season. He threw three touchdowns in a game against the bad Redskins defense, but was unable to score in his other three-game appearances. He's averaging 193 passing yards (we excluded Game 4 where he left early) so his value isn't very high. He faces the Saints this week, who have allowed a lot of fantasy points to quarterbacks, but that number is a bit inflated due to the four rushing touchdowns they've allowed to the position. New Orleans has a solid pass defense, which makes Trubisky a below-average option this week.
Week 4 vs. Minnesota Vikings
Mitch Trubisky had his best fantasy game of the season as he was surprisingly effective, completing 25-of-31 passes for 231 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. It was his only game this season where he scored a touchdown. Expect a decrease in production this week, however, as he gets a much tougher matchup against the Vikings. He struggled last season against Minnesota, finishing with 165 yards and 163 yards, respectively, in his two games. He scored just once against the Vikings in 2018 while throwing two interceptions. He's a bad option in Week 4.
Week 3 at Washington Redskins
Mitch Trubisky has now played two games this season and has no touchdowns (either passing or rushing). He played worse in Week 2 with fewer passing yards (120) although he avoided turning the ball over. Still, getting no touchdowns out of your quarterback in two straight games is not a good look.
This week will be very telling as Trubisky gets a favorable matchup against the Redskins. Washington has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to QBs so far this season. Washington allowed three passing touchdowns in each game to Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott. Trubisky gets a great matchup, but he's not a strong fantasy option considering what he's done so far.
Week 2 at Denver Broncos
Mitch Trubisky was pretty awful in his 2019 debut. He finished completing just 26 of 45 passes for 228 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. He also ran the ball three times for 11 yards. He went up against an improved Packers defense, but it's still troubling to see him struggle so poorly. You at least expect to get one score out of your QB.
He'll face a Broncos defense that was tough on QBs a season ago, but didn't play too well in Week 1 against Oakland. The Broncos allowed Derek Carr to complete 22-of-26 passes for 259 yards. Expect a better game than last week, but not too much better. We have Trubisky as one of the poorer QB options in Week 2.
Week 1 vs. Green Bay Packers
Mitch Trubisky didn't play at all in the preseason, but after a strong second season in 2018, there's a lot of optimism surrounding the Bears' quarterback. Chicago added a few new weapons for Trubisky in Riley Ridley (rookie), Cordarrelle Patterson (free agent) and David Montgomery (rookie). He also retains Allen Robinson, Trey Burton, Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller. In short, Trubisky has a lot of support around him, which he didn't have at points last season due to injuries.
He opens up 2019 against the Packers. Green Bay allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks last season, but added some key players in free agency to help strengthen that side of the ball. Last season, Trubisky didn't play great against Green Bay. He finished with 171 passing yards and no passing touchdowns (he did score on the ground) in his first game and had 235 yards and two passing touchdowns in his second game.
Trubisky won't be an elite option in fantasy this week. He's not a terrible start, but there are several more quarterbacks who offer something more.
Fantasy Upside
Mitchell Trubisky had times last season where he looked like a true QB1. From Week 4 to Week 10 (with a bye in Week 5), Trubisky threw for 17 touchdowns with just four interceptions while averaging 285 passing yards. In that six-game span, he also ran for 256 yards while scoring twice on the ground. He took a big leap in his second year compared to his first despite learning a new offensive system with brand new receivers. After finishing as the 15th highest-scoring QB in 2018, Trubisky gets another year to learn under Matt Nagy while keeping the same top offensive weapons.
Fantasy Downside
Although Trubisky played well at times in 2018, he was very inconsistent. After throwing 300+ yards in four of six games, Trubisky followed by averaging 183 passing yards in his last five regular season games. He also had just one multi-touchdown game in that span while turning the ball over six times.
2019 Bottom Line
There’s a lot to like about Trubisky heading into 2019. As we mentioned in the upside section, he’s retaining all of the key people around him, which is huge for a developing quarterback. He’ll be 25 by the time the season starts, which is around the age we start to see quarterbacks hit their peak. His inconsistency from 2018 can also be attributed to his shoulder bruise injury. Before the injury, he averaged as QB7 from Weeks 1-11. When he returned after a two-game absence, he averaged QB23 in the final four games. There’s a lot of upside in Trubisky, but he should be viewed as a later-round option.
Wild Card Playoffs vs. Philadelphia Eagles
As expected, Mitch Trubisky struggled last week against a tough defense. He finished with just 163 yards and no touchdowns, just the second time he's been held scoreless all season. Although it was the fifth time he's been held under 200 yards, which will be a reason why he's not a reliable every week guy.
He gets his first career playoff test this week against the Eagles, which is a decent matchup. The Eagles gave up the 11th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks during the regular season, although they finished the year on a high-note holding Washington to just 91 yards. However in the three games prior the secondary gave up over 300 yards in each outing.
Depending on the game flow, we could see a decent performance from Trubisky this week. He's not one of the stronger playoff QB options, but there are a few worse choices.
Week 17 at Minnesota Vikings
Mitch Trubisky gets a tough matchup against the Vikings this week, who have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. He didn't play well against Minnesota earlier in the year, finishing with 165 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Add on the fact the Bears don't have much to play for in this one, either. They can move up with a win and a Rams loss to the 49ers, but the Rams losing seems unlikely. If L.A. gets up big early there's a chance Matt Nagy can rest Trubisky and the rest of the Bears. Trubisky is a risky option this week.
Week 16 at San Francisco 49ers
Mitch Trubisky played well last week, finishing with 235 yards and two touchdowns. It was a bounce-back game from his two previous outings which were both duds. Trubisky has been an average option most weeks this season, with a stretch where he was a QB1 putting up big numbers.
He has a chance to reach that territory again this week in a favorable matchup against the 49ers. San Francisco is giving up the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing QBs. Quarterbacks have a 103.1 QB rating against SF (third highest in the league), so Trubisky should have no problem having success. Honestly the biggest thing hindering him is the Bears getting a big lead and relying on the run more. Still, we like Trubisky as a low-end QB1.
