Outside criticism. Injuries to his shoulder and hip. Turnovers.
Regardless of the adversity this season, Mitchell Trubisky hasn't flinched. That was the case again Thursday night when the Bears quarterback rebounded from an interception and led his team to a crucial victory just as he did a week earlier on Thanksgiving in Detroit.
Against the Lions, Trubisky followed his only pick of the game by completing 10 of 11 passes for 165 yards with two touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating on three possessions in leading the Bears to a 24-20 comeback win.
A week later Thursday night at Soldier Field he bounced back after throwing an interception on the Bears' first possession to have his best all-around game of the season. Trubisky completed 23 of 31 passes for 244 yards with three touchdowns and a 115.5 passer rating and rushed for a season-high 63 yards and one TD on 10 carries in a 31-24 victory over the Cowboys.
"I told everybody this last week—[adversity] is not fazing him," said left tackle Charles Leno Jr. "He's the same guy whether he throws a pick or he doesn't. Whatever it is, he's the same guy from the beginning of the game to the end of the game, and that's what I love about him."
According to STATS, Inc., Trubisky on Thursday night became the first quarterback in NFL history to complete at least 70 percent of his passes with at least 30 attempts, throw for three touchdowns, and rush for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Trubisky became one of three NFL quarterbacks to have multiple games with three passing touchdowns and one rushing TD in the last two seasons, joining the Saints' Drew Brees and the Bills' Josh Allen.
In leading the Bears to four wins in their last five games, Trubisky has accounted for 13 touchdowns, 11 passing and two rushing. The Bears have improved their record to 7-6 during that stretch after a four-game losing streak dropped their record to 3-5.
"Really steady improvement comes from focusing on incremental steady improvement," Trubisky said. "That's what we've been preaching since really training camp when we were talking about that. Got away from a little bit. Went through some adversity.
"I mean, that's all great. Pulled together tighter, overcame that. We've just got to continue to focus on getting better, staying hungry, coming closer together as a team and family, doing the things that are allowing us to be successful."
Trubisky's 63 yards rushing were his second most in a game, topped only by an 81-yard effort last season in a loss to the Patriots. He entered Thursday night's contest with just 80 yards rushing this season after running for 421 yards last year.
"He's just using his God-given ability," said receiver Anthony Miller. "He's one of the best running quarterbacks in the league, in my opinion. He's a slippery guy. When he sees the opportunity to run, he takes full advantage of it. It keeps the defense on their toes. They know that they have to watch Mitch at all times. He's a playmaker."
Trubisky was part of a rushing offense that compiled 151 yards on 34 carries. Running back David Montgomery gained 86 yards on 20 attempts.
"The O-line did a great job all night creating holes for David, myself and Tarik [Cohen]," Trubisky said. "Just taking what the defense gave us. We knew they were going to do that. There were some openings. I did my job of pulling the ball down and running. I thought I ran smart. Had a couple good runs, moved the chains when we needed to. Did my part. All the credit goes to the guys up front for blocking their tails off."
