With his first victory as an NFL starter under his belt, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields came to his postgame news conference Sunday feeling a sense of satisfaction.
Fields’ predominant emotion did not seem to be relief, which would have been the easy default setting after the Bears responded to their Week 3 mess in Cleveland with a 24-14 thumping of the Detroit Lions. More so, Fields emanated self-confidence and an obvious sense of fulfillment.
He seemed pleased. Maybe even proud. But he did not seem even a little surprised.
Seven days earlier, Fields and the Bears were pummeled by the Browns. The rookie was sacked nine times. The Bears netted 1 passing yard, had only six first downs and failed to score a touchdown in 11 possessions. It was, in kindest terms, an absolute mess with questionable strategy and poor execution. That brought a tsunami of outside derision, both locally and nationally.
After a challenging cleanup process that included several significant adjustments last week, the Bears’ bounceback win over the Lions left Fields feeling thankful for the entire experience.
“I’ve been in rough spots before,” he said. “And my mindset was just to bounce back.”
Last Thursday, Fields noticed a tweet from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who was scrapping to lift his team after consecutive losses to the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings.
“I love adversity,” Wilson wrote.
Fields shared that feeling.
“I truly do love that (adversity),” he said, “because it just brings a whole different person out of me. And in some ways I’m glad last week happened.”
Fields’ steadiness throughout a tumultuous week at Halas Hall and then during a three-hour game-day test registered as meaningful. When the Bears drafted Fields with the 11th pick in April, they did so with belief in his mental fortitude and ability to handle pressure.
Sunday offered hard-copy evidence that Fields’ poise and resolve might be every bit as important as his impressive accuracy and elite speed.
His ability to handle hardship has been noted at Halas Hall.
“He’s one of the better ones I’ve been around with that,” coach Matt Nagy said Monday morning. “For 22 years old? To have that is rare.”
Fields’ predecessor, Mitch Trubisky, tended to press too much, to become mentally strained in his efforts to pull himself and the offense out of a rut. Quite simply, Trubisky often struggled with struggling. And that frequently left the Bears discombobulated.
Fields, by contrast, doesn’t seem to have that vulnerability. His assertion late Sunday that the debacle against the Browns activated some of his inner strength was encouraging.
“That wasn’t us last week,” Fields said. “That was one of the worst performances in Bears history. That’s not how we play. I was just happy to see us get back on track.”
In the big picture, the victory over the Lions carries very little significance for the Bears. It was a needed home win over a winless division opponent. The Bears played pretty well and clawed back to .500. But they were far from spectacular and will have to be far sharper over the next month and a half to keep this season afloat.
Still, Fields’ pluck and determination are valuable assets. And the experience he has gained in his first two NFL starts is important. The way he locked into Sunday morning’s pregame session on the field was notable.
“I know when I’m in a rhythm and I know when I’m feeling good,” Fields said. “I felt good coming into the game, throwing the ball. I knew it was going to be a good day.”
With the microscope dialed in on Fields’ performance at Soldier Field, here’s our Week 4 QB rewind.
Defining moment
On the first play, the Bears wasted little time setting a tone. Allen Robinson was the only receiver on the field. David Montgomery was alone in the backfield. Fields lined up under center, and the offensive line was sandwiched by three tight ends: Jimmy Graham to the left and Jessie James and Cole Kmet to the right.
Handoff up the middle.
Here it is. Stop it.
With a strong push up front, Montgomery found open space and chewed up 9 yards. That was the first play of a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown march that put the Bears ahead to stay less than 7 minutes into the game.
Nagy loved the way the entire unit used that first play as a catalyst.
“You could feel the energy and the confidence in saying, ‘You know what, we’re going to start this game off the right way,’ ” Nagy said.
The Bears ran the ball nine times in 12 snaps on that opening drive. Montgomery finished it off with a 4-yard touchdown run on which he ran behind three tight ends — Graham, Kmet and J.P. Holtz — and plowed into the end zone. Six plays earlier, the third-year running back burst for 9 yards on a critical fourth-and-1 play from the Bears 47.
“To get that,” Nagy said, “it just gives you a little bit more juice.”
Talk about establishing a clear methodology to the afternoon. Talk about taking pressure off a young quarterback.
“Whatever the result was, we were going to come out of this thing with an identity,” Nagy said.
By day’s end, the Bears had rushed for 188 yards. Montgomery had 106 of those, including a 9-yard score in the second quarter. That run was all sorts of tough with Montgomery dodging a tackle near the line of scrimmage, then pushing the pile into the end zone for the final 5 yards.
After going 20 possessions between touchdowns, finding the end zone on consecutive drives was a big deal. And the establishment of a reliable running game helped Fields settle in.
On the bright side
The Bears’ longest gain came on their second possession, a 64-yard dart from Fields to Darnell Mooney that sent a jolt of electricity through Soldier Field.
With an eye on the Lions defense before the snap, Fields spotted two high safeties as he came to the line of scrimmage but recognized Dean Marlowe walking up into the box. Mooney had his opening to knife through the zone coverage. Fields held Will Harris, the deep safety, then threw in perfect rhythm with a bull’s-eye shot to Mooney, who caught the ball in stride, shook off a tackle, gained 22 more yards and nearly broke free.
“It was awesome,” Nagy said. “Justin took a beautiful drop, set his feet, one-hitch, throw.”
Mooney, recognizing where Harris was positioned, kept his route skinny and stayed in sync with Fields.
“Me and Justin locked eyes,” Mooney said. “And once he looked at me, I was like, ‘OK.’ So I gave my eyes to the safety, found out where he was and I took my route higher.”
Added Fields: “Me and him are pretty much always on the same page.”
Fields wound up with five completions of at least 20 yards. His 32-yard connection to Mooney was the longest play of the Bears’ final touchdown drive. And while that throw probably should have been a couple of yards farther up the field, it at least gave Mooney an opportunity to make a play.
Two plays earlier, Fields connected with Robinson for 28 yards on a dagger route, keeping himself in rhythm with crisp footwork aiding his timing.
“That’s a play that we rep a lot in practice,” Fields said. “So it was just like practice.”
Throughout the game, Nagy saw signs of growth from Fields. His footwork was smooth. He made good decisions. Perhaps best of all, he seemed to have a good grasp on deciphering the coverages the Lions threw at him.
“That’s a positive step right there for him,” Nagy said.
Uh-oh
Fields’ lone turnover came on a pass to Mooney over the middle that was deflected at the line of scrimmage by Jalen Reeves-Maybin and picked off by Amani Oruwariye.
“Just got tipped,” Fields said. “Can’t do anything about that.”
More troublesome was his fumble with a little more than 10 minutes remaining and the Bears protecting a 24-14 lead.
The Lions scored on their previous possession and the Bears had first-and-10 near midfield when Fields didn’t get rid of the ball fast enough and was hit from the blind side after outside linebacker Charles Harris beat Kmet with a spin move.
To Fields’ credit, he didn’t give up on the play and recovered the fumble 24 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
“Huge,” Nagy said. “That was a negative play that turned into an OK play.”
It’s not often an offense breathes a sigh of relief and pumps a fist when facing second-and-34. But that was the case after Fields reacted and used his athleticism to get the football back. Had the Lions recovered, they would have been in position to increase the pressure on the Bears, taking over inside the red zone in a 10-point game with plenty of time remaining.
After Fields’ recovery, the Bears gained 9 yards and then netted 38 yards on Pat O’Donnell’s punt. That provided some needed breathing room at a critical time in the game.
Fields will learn a lesson about ball security from that sequence. It’s those kinds of potential game-changing errors that contribute to Nagy’s hesitance to ride out the rest of the season with a rookie starting at quarterback.
Odds and ends
Nagy was insistent again Monday that Andy Dalton will start Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders if the bone bruise in his left knee has healed sufficiently. Dalton still has Nagy’s backing as his top quarterback with Fields destined to be bumped back into a backup role. That decision, Nagy said, stems from the original plan the Bears laid out for Fields’ development. And the promising growth Fields showed from Week 3 to Week 4 won’t influence the quarterback decision for Week 5. “What has been great about these last couple weeks is Justin has had the opportunity to play and get significant snaps and he’s grown from it,” Nagy said. “Now we just have to see where Andy’s health is at.” At this point, it’s difficult to detect the true impetus for that decision. For the long-term prospects of the organization, keeping Fields in a role that aids and accelerates his development should be a priority. If Nagy feels like Fields can make more significant strides learning behind the scenes than he can gaining game experience, that’s his prerogative. But if the urge to turn back to Dalton is based on pressure Nagy feels to win this season, high-level internal discussions might be necessary at Halas Hall to calibrate the most important goals for the remainder of 2021. Outside of Chicago, almost no one views the Bears as contenders for anything meaningful this season. They are seen as a middle-tier team that can handle its business against inferior opponents but will fail to measure up against the league’s best.
Nagy stressed Monday that Fields needs to gain more than just in-game experience. “(It’s) understanding that it’s not just showing up on Sunday and playing the game,” Nagy said. “There’s a whole process to that Monday through Saturday (schedule), man. Everything is to the hour with what you’re doing. From the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. And how important sleep is too. Distractions outside the building. Everything else that’s going on. There’s a lot to being a successful NFL quarterback. He’s learned a lot in two weeks.” To the previous point of identifying the Bears’ most significant goals, it would seem sensible to keep Fields in the starter’s lane to continue the learning process. At present, however, that doesn’t seem to be Nagy’s vision.
Sunday marked the 11th time in Nagy’s 52 regular-season games as coach that the Bears have rushed for at least 150 yards. The 188-yard output was the third-highest rushing total of Nagy’s tenure. The Bears rolled up 199 yards in a 33-27 defeat of the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15 last season. They had 194 yards on the ground against the Los Angeles Rams in a 15-6 win in December 2018. The Bears are 9-2 under Nagy when rushing for at least 150 yards.
For the third time in four games, the Bears went without a touchdown pass. They are one of only two teams that have yet to throw for multiple touchdowns this season. (The Miami Dolphins are the other.) The offense’s lone TD pass was Dalton’s 11-yard strike to Robinson on the opening drive against the Bengals in Week 2. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the league with Tom Brady having thrown for 10 touchdowns. The New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots are tied for 28th with two touchdown passes apiece.
Fields was asked Sunday afternoon about his experience with offensive coordinator Bill Lazor calling the plays. “His voice is always calm,” Fields said. “That’s the one thing I like. Coach (Nagy), it’s hard for him to be calm if he has to focus on the defense and focus on special teams. (Lazor’s) voice is calm. He’s up there in the box seeing the field well and he did a great job calling plays.”
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