Blown leads and missed expectations have only been the start of Bears’ quarterback Justin Fields’ woes. But is he truly the undisputed issue?
How the Bears got here may be semantics. But the issue still remains. The Chicago Bears are 1-4 in a year with sky-high expectations and the team hasn’t shown a smidge of improvement from an abysmal 2022 season.
At the conclusion of a last minute thriller in Soldier Field, the city of Chicago was left speechless. Losing 31-28 to a team that gave up 70 points the week before was enough to have anyone in the scope of the NFL gawk. Yet, it was somehow improvement for a young quarterback on the hot seat– Justin Fields.
The Bears traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft to get Fields at the 11th overall pick. Coming out of Ohio State, Fields was one of the hottest draft prospects, a godsend to help revitalize the Bears organization. Since then, they have done nothing but continue on their poverty-stricken ways, ending the 2022 season 3-13 and haven’t earned a win this year.
Critics have been quick to place the blame on Fields, who has been poised to have a breakout year– however one would be hard-pressed to find the improvement in Fields’ game from last season to now. And therein lies the issue– the lack of progression. For a quarterback in his first full year to not completely understand the game is acceptable.
Especially when you’ve been thrust into a situation like Fields’. A complete failure to move on and learn from your mistakes isn’t, which is what Fields has shown over the past couple of games.
Yes, Justin Fields doesn’t have a healthy nor a great team around him. A defense in shambles, a now-traded Chase Claypool who’s simply a former shell of himself, and an offensive line who rivals a wet paper bag– no matter which way you slice it, it’s not the idealistic quarterback environment. Fields was relied on in his first year in 2021, not being able to learn too much and ending up figuring it all out on the run (no pun intended) was the name of the game. And to the grim parallel of too many other quarterbacks that fizzled out in the league, Fields’ story might not be so different.
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We’d point to Fields’ best stretch late last year as the best measure of his potential. The Bears only won one game. Even with an improved roster, adding a premier wide receiver in DJ Moore, a revamped defense, and more attention given to the offensive line, the Bears are winless through four games.
“Every opportunity I get to go out there and play, I’m going to have fun,” Fields said in an interview with The Athletic. “I’m going to play my hardest and, you know, just thank God for giving me the ability to play. So, no matter what the scoreboard is, I’m going to keep doing the same mindset and just pushing to keep moving forward.”
And for a fleeting moment on Sunday against the then-winless Broncos… it looked like the Justin Fields move paid off. Justin Fields finished the day against Denver with four touchdowns, one interception, and 335 yards. With a performance like that, you’d think the Bears could squeak out a win.
It simply wasn’t enough.
Somewhere in there lies the enigma of Justin Fields. With a day like that, Fields could be the next big quarterback in the graces of the Bears since Jay Cutler or Jim McMahon. Except that in 2023, he’s played good quarterback 25% of the time. Simply not good enough on a team that has struggled to win even on his best days.
When asked why the Bears offense has shot blanks over the past couple of weeks, Fields offered a simple answer, “I don’t know, I’m not about to answer that question to be honest with you, but, yeah.”
“We’re finding the flow for him,” said head coach Matt Eberflus. “We’ve just gotta keep doing it. Keep doing it and we’ve gotta find how to let him do his thing and explode. And it’s not just about Justin, it’s about everybody on the offense.”
Through four games, Fields’ flaws have stuck out like a sore thumb. In a Week 1 divisional matchup against another young up and coming quarterback, Jordan Love– Fields struggled to hit wide open targets, instead opting to fire the ball to the checkdown or simply run it himself instead.
While that may have worked in the Big 10 back at Ohio State, this is the NFL and you must be a damn good passer in order to even have a chance at running the ball. Throughout the next two weeks, Fields suffered even more– faltering against good defenses and failed to utilize number one wide receiver DJ Moore in any large capacity.
The result? A humiliating 41-10 loss against the Chiefs and a 27-17 losing battle to Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Fast forward two weeks later and the Bears put on a stunning upset performance on a Thursday night showdown versus the Washington Commanders where Fields looked like he was back with the Buckeyes on a Saturday afternoon. Justin Fields finished the day with four touchdowns, 282 yards, and 9.7 yards per attempt.
Even with the unexpected performance, Fields hovered only around midpoint with a 51.7% completion percentage. He had help from a dominating performance by wide receiver DJ Moore– who had a 230 yard, three touchdown day.
Still, the verdict’s out on Fields. Except the jury’s getting restless. The Chicago Bears need answers fast. And no, it’s not time to start Tyson Bagent or go looking for Chi-Town’s latest supposed savior. Instead, it’s time to really start making a decision if Fields is truly the answer and if it’s time to chalk up the experiment as a lost cause.
