Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said the way his team lost in the playoffs was “kind of heartbreaking.”
But he’s in the Pro Bowl and gets to spend the week in Orlando, and how awesome is that?
According to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune, Trubisky said he was choosing to be encouraged by being in Orlando with six of his teammates (a seventh and the best of them Khalil Mack opted out because of injury).
“It’s tough being out (of the postseason),” Trubisky said. “I did not expect it to come to an end, and how much fun we were having, you never want that to end.
“You wish you could still be playing, but you have to stay positive and pick the next best thing, and that’s coming to the Pro Bowl and going to the Super Bowl [as a guest] next week.”
Others have taken the loss on Cody Parkey’s double-doink miss (and subsequent TV appearance which the coach didn’t care for) much harder. And while Trubisky said he’d eventually circle back and assess the season, he was taking a moment to take pride in being part of the NFC’s largest contingent in the all-star game, and that at a pair of his draft classmates (Tarik Cohen and Eddie Jackson) were with him.
“People were bashing us,” Trubisky said. “ ‘Who are these guys? Where are they from? Why did we bring them to Chicago?’ And that’s why. We know what type of guys we are, how hard we work and the type of talent we have. It’s awesome to see.
“It says a lot about the type of people and players Ryan Pace has brought in. It talks about our caliber of talent. People will always underestimate you and give you grades, but we’re here, so nothing they can say now really. We have to keep getting better and enjoy it.”
So while it isn’t a Super Bowl, it’s something positive, and Trubisky is latching onto it.