LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS – Justin Fields returns to lead the Bears against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sunday, beginning a vital seven-game run.
The third-year quarterback needs to put together two months of high-level play to convince general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus that they should continue to develop around him as their franchise quarterback rather than moving on to Caleb Williams Island or Drake Maye Key.
Fields must constantly improve, according to the Bears. They want to see him keep the ball and make game-changing plays with both his arm and legs. They want to see him run the offense efficiently in four-minute, two-minute, and game-ending circumstances. Can he show that he can play quarterback at a high level and help the Bears win games? Can he make Luke Getsy’s occasionally clumsy offensive appear better than it is? Can he lift those around him in the same way that other franchise quarterbacks have?
Fields played 53 minutes of damn good football Sunday in Detroit. He played free, hung in the pocket, made good and quick decisions, kept his eyes downfield when he was forced to escape, tormented the Lions with his legs, and his 39-yard touchdown strike to DJ Moore was quintessential Fields when he’s on. The quarterback dropped back and was pressured from his left. Fields dodged the rusher, stepped up in the pocket, and ripped a rope to Moore for a score.
Fields had the Lions guessing for 53 minutes. He finished the day 16-for-23 for 169 yards and a touchdown with 104 yards rushing.
When Fields bolted out of the pocket and picked up 29 yards on third-and-14 with just under seven minutes to play, it appeared that the third-year quarterback would start the crucial seven-game stretch with a signature win – by defeating a measuring-stick opponent with plays that reminded him how special he can be.
Everything was fine. Then the Bears’ coaching staff, who need to see Fields deliver in high-pressure circumstances and prove he can win games when everything is on the line, pulled it away from him.
The Bears were leading by nine points and faced a first-and-10 at the Lions’ 26-yard line. All they had to do was stick to the game plan that had worked for the first 53 minutes, let Fields continue to make smart decisions, and they’d come out of Detroit with a big win.
Instead, the Bears instructed their players not to lose.
On first down, the Bears sent the ball to Khalil Herbert for a one-yard gain. Fields kept it on a zone read for 2 on second down, setting up a crucial third-and-7 situation.
It should have been another chance to assess Fields. To put the ball in his hands and see if these are the hands you want to govern your destiny for the next ten years.
Instead, the Bears passed it to Roschon Johnson for 2 yards and converted a field goal to take a 12-point lead.
With three perplexing play calls, Fields’ grade on that drive dropped from an A to an incomplete.
“Yeah, we love those plays we had there, even the one on third down,” Eberflus remarked at Halas Hall on Monday. “We thought we could get it for third down.” Yes, I believe it was third and 7 at the time. That appeals to us. He might have had a disconnect, but he chose to hand it off. I believe 34 was waiting for him. We felt we could pop that one, so we put it there.”
With those three calls, the Bears not only squandered an evaluative opportunity, but they also cost themselves the game.
The Lions scored in 1:16 to narrow the lead to five points.
That meant Fields had one more chance to produce a winning play to add to his evaluation ledger. The Bears were going to play it safe with fewer than three minutes remaining. That’s all right. However, there is a distinction to be made between not wanting to turn the ball over and turtling.
The latter was done by the Bears.
The call for first down was a standard shotgun handoff to Herbert. There is no originality, no fluidity, and no keeper choice. Simply run it up the center for no gain. On second-and-10, the Bears called a read option, which the Lions executed well, forcing Fields to give it to Herbert for a one-yard gain.
The Bears finally put the ball in Fields’ hands on third-and-9, needing a first down to practically seal the game. When the safety came down in robber coverage on DJ Moore, Fields knew he had Tyler Scott singled up on the outside and took his shot. Fields’ throw was excellent, but Scott “misjudged” it and it sailed over his outstretched fingers.
The Bears punted, and the rest is history as the Lions won 31-26 in a stunning comeback.
Six plays (or more) in the ideal NFL environment for the Bears to analyze Fields — to gather the information they claim they desire — and they absolutely blew an opportunity to chart a way ahead.
“The last play we talked about with the cross to DJ, and he threw it over top, I mean that would have been a spectacular play if we connected on that,” Eberflus said Monday when asked if the Bears could get a full evaluation of Fields if they don’t put the ball in his hands in key situations. “We were standing right there. We just need to execute well in that time, and that’s what we’re talking about as a group. Taking responsibility is offensive, defensive, and kicking in the right direction. That is something we must do.”
Scott, a good but inexperienced rookie receiver, isn’t the problem.
Everything that comes before it is the problem.
Maybe the Bears don’t want Fields to prove himself to them. Perhaps the die has been cast and they are ready to move on to a rookie quarterback of their choice.
But it would be ideal for this reconstruction if Fields went out and proved himself to be the man. To avoid a catastrophic mistake, the Bears must first ensure that he is not a franchise quarterback before moving on from him.
For front offices, the unknown of a draft choice might be intriguing. However, quarterback evaluation is an imprecise science. Even the most promising possibilities fail at a high rate.
Consider the draft class of 2021 and where they are now.
