Player
Mitchell Trubisky
QB
A 6-TD regular-season game is genuinely rare — 14 QBs have done it across the entire dataset. Trubisky reaching that mark in his 15th career start reframes how completely his career collapsed from its early ceiling.
Trubisky's 2018 Week 4: 6 TDs, 354 yards, 154.6 rating — only his 15th career start.
AnomalyTrubisky 6-TD game vs Tampa Bay (2018 Wk 4)
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Completions/Att | 19/26 (73.1%) |
| +Yards | 354 |
| TDs | 6 |
| INTs | 0 |
| Passer Rating | 154.6 |
| Career starts to that point | 14 |
Why it matters. A 6-TD regular-season game is genuinely rare — 14 QBs have done it across the entire dataset. Trubisky reaching that mark in his 15th career start reframes how completely his career collapsed from its early ceiling.
After being benched for Nick Foles mid-2020, Trubisky came back and posted a 97.9 avg passer rating over 6 games — better than his Pro Bowl season average.
Trubisky 2020: before vs after Foles
| Period | Cmp% | TDs | INTs | Avg Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before Foles (Wks 1-3) | 59.3% | 6 | 3 | ~84 |
| After Foles (Wks 12-17) | 70.1% | 10 | 5 | 97.9 |
Trubisky post-Foles 2020 weekly
| Week | Yards | TDs | INTs | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 242 | 3 | 2 | 74.7 |
| 13 | 267 | 1 | 0 | 108.3 |
| 14 | 267 | 3 | 0 | 126.7 |
| 15 | 202 | 1 | 1 | 97.7 |
| 16 | 265 | 2 | 1 | 97.9 |
| 17 | 252 | 0 | 1 | 81.7 |
Why it matters. The benching is cited as proof of his failure, but the data shows his best sustained stretch came immediately after — suggesting the Bears' decision to draft Fields may have cut short a genuine late improvement arc.
Among top-5 QB picks from 2012–2022 with 1,200+ attempts, Trubisky's 64.4% career cmp% outranks 9 of 14 — including Andrew Luck, Jameis Winston, and Trevor Lawrence.
Top-5 picks 2012–2022 — career cmp% (1,200+ att)
| QB | Draft | Cmp% | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Burrow | #1 2020 | 68.5% | 157 |
| Tua Tagovailoa | #5 2020 | 68.0% | 120 |
| Kyler Murray | #1 2019 | 67.1% | 121 |
| Jared Goff | #1 2016 | 65.8% | 256 |
| Mitchell Trubisky | #2 2017 | 64.4% | 78 |
| Baker Mayfield | #1 2018 | 63.5% | 197 |
| Carson Wentz | #2 2016 | 62.8% | 159 |
| Trevor Lawrence | #1 2021 | 62.8% | 98 |
| Marcus Mariota | #2 2015 | 62.8% | 107 |
| Sam Darnold | #3 2018 | 62.3% | 123 |
| Jameis Winston | #1 2015 | 61.1% | 156 |
| Andrew Luck | #1 2012 | 60.8% | 171 |
| Robert Griffin | #2 2012 | 63.0% | 43 |
| Blake Bortles | #3 2014 | 59.3% | 103 |
Why it matters. The gap between Trubisky's passing accuracy (middle of the top-5 class) and his TD output (bottom) points specifically at decision-making and system fit — not raw arm talent — as the root cause of the bust label.
2018: 9 of Trubisky's 24 TDs came in just 2 games (37.5%). Strip those out and he averaged 1.25 TDs over 12 other starts — barely starter-level.
Trubisky 2018 TD concentration
| Group | Games | TDs | TD/Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 4 + Wk 10 (peak) | 2 | 9 | 4.5 |
| All other starts | 12 | 15 | 1.25 |
| Full season | 14 | 24 | 1.71 |
2018 TD game breakdown
| Week | TDs | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 77.2 |
| 2 | 2 | 83.0 |
| 3 | 0 | 73.5 |
| 4 | 6 | 154.6 |
| 6 | 3 | 122.5 |
| 7 | 2 | 69.8 |
| 8 | 2 | 102.7 |
| 9 | 1 | 76.0 |
| 10 | 3 | 148.6 |
| 11 | 1 | 61.9 |
| 14 | 1 | 33.3 |
| 15 | 2 | 120.4 |
| 16 | 1 | 113.5 |
| 17 | 0 | 85.9 |
Why it matters. QB evaluation leans heavily on season totals, but Trubisky's 2018 was one of the most bimodal performances in the data — his two best games made his numbers look like a franchise QB; his median game looked like a journeyman.
Trubisky's completion % rose every year he wasn't benched mid-season — finishing at 75.9% in 2025 as a backup.
Trubisky career cmp% by season (5+ attempts)
| Season | Cmp% | TDs | INTs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 59.4% | 7 | 7 |
| 2018 | 66.6% | 24 | 12 |
| 2019 | 63.2% | 17 | 10 |
| 2020 | 67.0% | 16 | 8 |
| 2021 | 60.0% | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | 65.0% | 4 | 5 |
| 2023 | 62.6% | 4 | 5 |
| 2024 | 71.4% | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 75.9% | 4 | 0 |
Why it matters. Completion percentage in controlled late-game appearances is a genuine signal: QBs under no pressure to escape rush or force plays tend to show their true accuracy ceiling. Trubisky's improvement arc in backup years suggests the talent was always there; the circumstances as a starter worked against him.
Trubisky's 2025 Week 18: 142.1 passer rating as a backup — 3rd highest ever by a QB with at most 1 qualifying start all season.
RareHighest passer ratings: backup QBs (≤1 start in season)
| QB | Year | Wk | TDs | Yds | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gus Frerotte | 2003 | 4 | 4 | 267 | 157.2 |
| Sam Bradford | 2017 | 1 | 3 | 346 | 143.0 |
| Mitchell Trubisky | 2025 | 18 | 4 | 259 | 142.1 |
| Matt Flynn | 2011 | 17 | 6 | 480 | 136.4 |
| Jimmy Garoppolo | 2016 | 2 | 3 | 232 | 135.4 |
Trubisky 2025 Week 18
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Completions/Att | 22/29 (75.9%) |
| Yards | 259 |
| TDs | 4 |
| INTs | 0 |
| Passer Rating | 142.1 |
Why it matters. Matt Flynn's famous 6-TD mop-up game made him briefly the most coveted backup in football; Trubisky's 2025 Wk18 game belongs in the same conversation by the numbers — it just happened while Josh Allen was healthy and unbeatable.
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