49ers vs. Bears: 5 key San Francisco matchups to watch in Week 13
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Pass Defense vs. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky
The Bears’ offensive mindset this season is pretty simple — put the ball in the hands of Jordan Howard and limit the number of chances rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has to throw.
To be fair, Trubisky doesn’t have a great supporting cast of receiving options. This hurts, but there’s no way to overlook just how bad his numbers have been this season.
Case in point:
- Completion percentage — 52.8, 36th
- Average yards per game — 162.1, 35th
- Passer rating — 70.8, 33rd
Trubisky doesn’t take a lot of sacks — just 19 on the season — largely due to a very good Bears offensive line. But when we dive deeper into the metrics, we can see even adequate pass protection hasn’t been enough.
According to Football Outsiders‘ ALEX metric, which measures a quarterback’s ability to pass beyond the first-down marker, Trubisky posts a minus-2.6, which ranked dead last among all qualifiers at the halfway point of the season.
What’s the point here? It’s simple. Make Trubisky throw the ball and ensure he’s having to do so on 3rd-and-long, where he clearly isn’t thriving.
Your job, 49ers pass defense.