One win and two impressive performances have changed the narrative slightly on Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
That will happen when you’re the first Bears quarterback in 14 years to throw four touchdown passes in a game multiple times in a season — and Fields did it twice in five days.
The discussion around Fields before the Denver Broncos game centered on his future with the team after a disastrous start. As coaches self-scouted, they were left to balance those first three games with the previous two.
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“When you look at the growth that he has had over the year, it’s been really good,” coach Matt Eberflus said Monday. “The steps he has taken the last couple of weeks have been where we all want it to go. He’s done that. … We’ve just got to keep building on that, and being able to distribute the ball to different skill (players) in our offense is going to be paramount going forward.”
General manager Ryan Poles has a bigger decision coming, and a lot more games to evaluate, but as the Bears enter Week 6, which Fields is closer to the real Fields?
Fishbain: In Weeks 4-5, Fields was third in the NFL in passer rating (131.6), third in EPA — expected points added — per pass (0.51), third in yards per attempt (9.6) and first in touchdowns (eight). The two players he trails in most categories are MVP candidates Josh Allen and Brock Purdy. As the Bears went to self-scout during the mini-bye, they had those two weeks, the best set of back-to-back games in Fields’ career (as a passer) but also the first three games when he ranked 31st in passer rating. How should we balance the first five games?
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Jahns: The past two games are examples of how good Fields can be if the offensive line plays well, which it did, especially against the Washington Commanders, and now that he has DJ Moore as his top receiver. This is where we have to mention that the Commanders and Broncos have two of the worst defenses in the league. But if Fields didn’t play well against them, that would have set off alarms at Halas Hall. Instead, he did what should have been expected of him. After the first three weeks, that’s progress. He has improved, and that should continue against the Minnesota Vikings. They don’t have an impressive defense, either. After five weeks, Fields is tied for second with 11 touchdown passes. He has more passing yards than Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson. His passer rating of 95.4 ranks 12th — right behind Patrick Mahomes’ 96.0.
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Fishbain: OK, I’m going to be that guy. Fields’ best two games in his career as a passer came against teams in the bottom five in opponent passer rating. Against the Broncos, he lost a fumble, was called for intentional grounding and threw an interception to end the game. Against the Commanders, he completed only 51.7 percent of his passes (granted, there were three throwaways when Fields was under pressure). There are two ways to look at that. On one hand, there’s room to grow. If those are his best games, and he still had a few errors, maybe we have yet to see the best of Fields. Or, do those mistakes still show his limitation, or a ceiling, on what he’s capable of? We could learn more against better defenses, which won’t come for a few weeks. I know this might be nitpicking, but the bar has to be high when you’re talking about a potential franchise quarterback.
2nd TD of the day for No. 2
📺: @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/6Vcz2XuC4q
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 6, 2023
Jahns: The best defense Fields will face over the next five weeks belongs to the New Orleans Saints, who rank first in opposing QB passer rating at 66.1 but 26th in sack percentage at 5.6. Minnesota ranks 30th in opposing quarterback passer rating (110.8), 31st in completion percentage (76.4), 22nd in passing yards per game (240.0), 25th in third-down percentage (43.7) and 27th in yards after catch allowed (517). The Vikings do rank second when it comes to limiting explosive plays, trailing only the San Francisco 49ers. That’s a lot of numbers, but they make Sunday an opportunity for Fields to build more confidence in what he’s doing and becoming in his third NFL season.
Fishbain: The other thing going for Fields, in addition to the added confidence and comfort he has in the offense, is an improving offensive line. Teven Jenkins is back. Braxton Jones could possibly be back soon. Nate Davis should be rounding into form and Darnell Wright has already put together some impressive highlights. The whole idea around Fields this season was: Let’s see what he can do with a solid offensive line and better weapons. Consistency has eluded Fields throughout his career. He’s got an opportunity to put together a string of impressive performances to give Poles a lot to think about. The question is, can he do enough to make Poles — and others — forget about everything else?
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Jahns: I do believe that Poles is in the middle of giving Fields a real chance to become his quarterback. Last season only meant so much. He knows that. The roster was purposely bad.
So let’s go back to what Poles said in August when he was asked about essentially knowing when to give up on younger players.
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“It’s a delicate balance, for sure,” Poles said. “There’s some commitments that you do have to give it the full time frame to make it work. I’ve seen guys struggle early and then something clicks. Or if it’s the way they’re learning or if it’s a resource in the building — whatever it is — I’ve seen it elevate off of that. But you got to have a good feel for when you reach that limit: ‘All right, I got to move on. Take it and move on.’ You just hurt the team if you go too long. I think you just kind of have to own it.”
The Bears aren’t there yet with Fields. Not even close. There are 12 games remaining. Next up: the Vikings.
(Photo: Brad Mills / USA Today)
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