Mitch Trubisky offers hope in John Fox’s play-it-safe world

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Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky throws a pass vs. the Lions. (Getty)

Kicker Connor Barth’s horribly missed field goal in the waning seconds Sunday against the Lions was a step in the right direction. It was progress. Heck, call it a positive.

Not for Barth, of course. That was awful. And not for coach John Fox. His seat still can fry eggs.

Barth’s shank from 46 yards was a sign of progress for rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky. It was a positive because Trubisky put Barth in that position through his playmaking.

The Bears’ 27-24 loss to the Lions at Soldier Field was full of frustrating moments, but Trubisky is getting closer. And that’s more important than anything for the Bears.

‘‘He’s not a flash in the pan,’’ guard Kyle Long said.

Trubisky wasn’t perfect after getting the ball at the Bears’ 17 with 1:31 left and three timeouts at his disposal. Cornerback Darius Slay nearly intercepted him on his fourth throw of that possession.

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But Trubisky’s 19-yard scramble on fourth-and-13 and his 15-yard completion to receiver Dontrelle Inman on the next play were two encouraging moments. He put the Bears in position to extend the game by accounting for 58 yards on their final drive.

Consider them all baby steps in the right direction for Trubisky after his late-game interceptions ruined Bears comeback attempts against the Vikings (a 20-17 loss) and Saints (a 20-12 loss). Trubisky didn’t go 2-for-5 for 16 yards, like he did on the Bears’ final drive last week against the Packers (a 23-16 loss). He produced when his team needed him to.

‘‘He’s a playmaker,’’ Fox said.

Trubisky has emerged despite Fox’s stubbornness. Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains’ playbook seemingly expanded against the Lions. As Fox said, ‘‘We’ve opened it up.’’

It looked that way in the early going, when the Bears made it a point to involve running back Tarik Cohen and tight end Adam Shaheen in their attack.

‘‘I’ve been very impressed with [Trubisky],’’ Fox said.

Just not enough to truly open things up for him — at least not yet. Trubisky has managed to flash his potential despite being subjected to Fox’s conservative approach.

‘‘I feel like they trust me,’’ said Trubisky, who was 18-for-30 for 179 yards, a one-yard touchdown to Shaheen and an 88.1 passer rating. ‘‘I know coach Dowell Loggains trusts me a lot with just how far I’ve progressed and what coach Fox is allowing us to do on offense. We’ve just got to keep getting better each week. I feel like I have.’’

Trubisky had his frustrating moments. His fumbled snap in the second quarter turned into a 27-yard touchdown return for cornerback D.J. Hayden.

‘‘It was on me,’’ he said.

It was a costly play, but Trubisky followed it up by leading an eight-play, 78-yard scoring drive that was capped by running back Jordan Howard’s 12-yard touchdown run. Trubisky went 4-for-4 for 38 yards and had a 10-yard run on that drive.

In the end, what Trubisky did wasn’t enough. It should be one day, though. He seems to know it.

‘‘Adversity is a great teacher,’’ Trubisky said. ‘‘Overcoming the struggles is a great teacher. You just continue to keep that mindset. There’s no rookie excuse. You don’t get any freebies for being a rookie or anything like that. My teammates trust me, and they have confidence in me.

‘‘New situations are going to arise every time, but you don’t get [any] excuses. You’ve just got to take those opportunities and make the most out of them instead of looking back and getting frustrated. So [I’ll] just continue to look at these things as great opportunities to overcome and get better from instead of dwelling on it.’’

Follow me on Twitter @adamjahns.

Email: ajahns@suntimes.com


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