Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
How many Bears quarterbacks have been selected to the Pro Bowl?
Rich L.
Eagle River, Wisconsin
Mitchell Trubisky is the fifth Bears quarterback to be named to the Pro Bowl since the game was created in its present form in 1951. The previous two both led the Bears to an NFL championship—Bill Wade in 1963 and Jim McMahon in 1985. The other two Bears quarterbacks voted to the Pro Bowl were Johnny Lujack (1951 and 1952) and Ed Brown (1955 and 1956). Trubisky was named to the NFC team Monday as a replacement for the Rams' Jared Goff, who is headed to the Super Bowl. In his first season as a full-time starter in 2018, Trubisky led the Bears to a 12-4 record and the NFC North title, completing 66.6 percent of his passes for 3,223 yards with 24 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 95.4 passer rating. The second overall pick in the 2017 draft also rushed for 421 yards and three TDs on 68 carries.
How many of the NFL's 31 other head coaches had a better record in their first seasons than Matt Nagy's 12-4? I can't imagine it's a very long list.
Walt T.
Waukegan, Illinois
It's not a long list. It's not a short list. It's not a list at all. That's because Matt Nagy's 12-4 record is the best by any current NFL head coach in his first season. The only coaches who went 11-5 in their first years were the Ravens' John Harbaugh in 2008 and the Rams' Sean McVay in 2017. Here's how some other notable head coaches fared in their first seasons: Bill Belichick (6-10 with the 1991 Browns), Andy Reid (5-11 with the 1999 Eagles), Sean Payton (10-6 with the 2006 Saints), Jon Gruden (8-8 with the 1998 Raiders) and Mike Tomlin (10-6 with the 2007 Steelers). By the way, Nagy's 12 wins are the most by a first-year Bears coach in franchise history.
How many different countries have the Bears played games in, counting regular season and preseason?
Todd S.
Dayton, Ohio
The Bears have played regular-season games in the United States, Canada (a 22-19 win over the Bills in 2010) and England (a 24-18 victory over the Buccaneers). They've also played preseason contests in all three of those aforementioned countries in addition to Sweden (a 28-21 loss to the Vikings in 1988), Germany (a 21-7 defeat to the 49ers in 1991) and Ireland (a 30-27 loss to the Steelers in 1997). So the answer to what I think is a pretty good trivia question is six countries.
