Tim Benz: Mitch Trubisky must embrace what made him successful vs. Buccaneers

For Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky, there’s no doubt his performance in less than one half of football Sunday was more memorable than any stretch he put together in his four starts to begin the year.

Hopefully, he embraces one of the obvious reasons why.

When Trubisky replaced an injured Kenny Pickett in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he turned a 13-12 lead into a 20-18 victory. He did so by completing nine of 12 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. Along the way, he converted five third downs.

The pocket moved, and Trubisky rolled with it. He kept the ball and moved the chains with his feet on one clutch, nine-yard run. When the chances were there, he took them. When obvious completions weren’t there, he put the ball up and let his receivers make plays. For instance, one notable improvised escape from the pocket when he floated a difficult pass to Chase Claypool for a third-down conversion.

And when the field got compact in the red zone, he threw the ball through a window to Claypool, even as it was closing with late-arriving coverage from Carlton Davis III.

Trubisky finds Claypool for six! @steelers take a 20-12 lead with 9:55 to go in the 4th.

????: #TBvsPIT on FOX
????: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/CzoJaiDy5n pic.twitter.com/2iMnILy1lS

— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2022

That was something neither Steelers QB had done so far this year — find a wide receiver for a touchdown. It was the first one in six games. That is a ghastly stat by 2022 NFL standards.

In other words, when Trubisky got into the game, he gave Steelers fans a look at what his time at quarterback was always supposed to look like from Day 1 as a starter. Maybe offensive coordinator Matt Canada finally helped in that regard as well.

That was the theory. That’s the snapshot we were sold as to why Trubisky would work out here as Ben Roethlisberger’s successor.

“Better late than never, I guess,” Trubisky said after the win.

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For the Steelers, yes. For Trubisky, we’ll see. Or maybe it’s too late. Maybe he still winds up as Pickett’s backup whenever the rookie is cleared from his concussion.

But if Trubisky has to start this week (or for the next few) and is given a chance to regain the starter’s role, Steelers fans should hope he’s as cognizant as to why that picture was so clear against Tampa Bay as opposed to when the season started.

It certainly appeared as if Trubisky played untethered and unafraid versus how he tried to perform under the looming specter of Pickett making his NFL debut.

When was it going to happen? Under what circumstances? In what week? Versus what opponent?

That clearly ate at Trubisky. From the moment he signed in Pittsburgh, all the way through the drafting of Pickett, Trubisky seemed confident, in control and as embracing of competition for the starting QB job.

Then the preseason happened. And the “Kenny, Kenny, Kenny” chants occurred. And the crush of fans along the fence line at training camp sought out Pickett’s autograph in Latrobe as if he was the fifth Beatle instead of the third-string QB. Then Pickett surpassed Mason Rudolph, despite a quality preseason from the incumbent veteran.

Could you blame Trubisky for thinking it was just a matter of time before his job was taken next? Because … it was.

Could you blame Trubisky for playing with caution instead of instinct out of fear that the first significant mistake would result in a benching? Could you blame him for applying the same mindset when it came to being unwilling to run out of fear of getting hurt so as to not lose his job for good because of something that may have just been a one- or two-week injury thanks to one scramble?

Yeah. Actually. To a degree, you can blame him.

Trubisky is an NFL QB, and it’s his job to find that balance between the external pressures of what may happen if he screws up versus the necessary rewards essential to pushing the envelope at the position.

That’s something Trubisky didn’t do well during his first month as a starter in Pittsburgh.

“When you kind of get thrown in there, you might be thinking a little less, just going out there playing free,” Trubisky said Sunday.

If playing off the bench without the prospect of Pickett coming back is what it took for Trubisky to realize that, great. So long as it pays dividends if he starts this week against Miami. So long as his early season mindset doesn’t devolve into, “Oh, no. What if I throw a pick in the first quarter and they bench me for Mason Rudolph?” instead.

Near the end of Trubisky’s press conference, a reporter advanced an opinion as much as he asked a question. “You seemed to be more relaxed today. Was that part of it? You were just more relaxed and confident?”

Trubisky answered but tried to tamp down the idea with a smile.

“I like to think I’m usually relaxed, even when I start. … But maybe I was,” Trubisky allowed. “If I looked relaxed, I felt relaxed. It felt good. So, I would love to duplicate what we did.”

Every Steelers fan should agree. And Trubisky should take that observation — and his own response — to heart.

Because it’s true.