After Over 70 Years, The Chicago Bears Finally Have A Quarterback
To briefly touch on the non-Justin Fields aspects of the Chicago Bears’ 29–27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bears — in terms of on-field performance — were clearly the better team. The defense turned Steelers running back Najee Harris into a non-factor, which all but nullified the Pittsburgh offense as a whole, and the offense — though out-of-sorts early — got things going in the third quarter and ended with what will likely be the most points they have scored all season.
Still, it wasn’t enough.
The Bears lost arguably their best performance of the year due to two things: lack of discipline and unjust officiating. As far as the former goes, it is a direct indictment of the ability of this coaching staff to both hold players accountable and cultivate a culture centered around details, but that’s neither here nor there. The latter was simply inexplicable. From Justin Fields not getting roughing the passer calls that were exponentially more dangerous than those which Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger received to the bogus Cassius Marsh taunting penalty that cost the Bears an opportunity at winning the game, Tony Corrente and company were flat-out pitiful.
But that’s not the story of the game.
The story of the game was that the Chicago Bears — a team that has struggled at the quarterback position since the late 1940s — finally have their saviour. Justin Fields was special on Monday night. I understand that his box score statistics of 17/29 for 291 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and a 54.5 quarterback rating is not phenomenal by any stretch of the imagination, but the eye test told a completely different story. Fields was near-perfect throughout. Yes, he missed a few receivers at times, but that’s inevitable even for the greatest of quarterbacks (just ask Patrick Mahomes). For the most part, he made throw after throw and big play after big play, particularly in the second-half. He proved me wrong from every angle: he threw into tight windows time and time again, delivered rifles “in the trash” in spite of his elongated throwing motion, repeatedly went through progressions efficiently, and played the position true to form. He showed the NFL world — particularly fans of the Lions, Vikings, and Packers — that despite how atrocious this season will be, the Bears will be terrifying in the near future.
And that final drive — that unbelievable, coming-of-age final drive — was the perfect capper to the night. With 2:47 to go and the Bears needing a touchdown to take the lead, Fields was surgical. He started off with a 9-yard completion to Allen Robinson then scrambled on two straight plays to bail the offense out despite the defense winning the battle. Then, it happened. On a 3rd-and-2 from the Bears’ 45-yard line, Fields read man-to-man coverage, attacked the smash-fade concept on the right side of the field (the correct decision), and hit Allen Robinson down the right sideline for a 39-yard gain. On the very next play, he was faced with more single-high coverage from the Steelers. The pocket collapsed, so he escaped to his left and threw across his body down the left sideline into the tightest of windows for Darnell Mooney. Touchdown. It was at that point that served as an eye-opener for the NFL world, with every fan left thinking the same thing: this kid is special.
Don’t let his season stats of 4 touchdowns to 8 interceptions and 8 fumbles fool you. No matter how poorly this season goes, the Bears have their guy. Now, it’s up to management to fill the roster around him.
We have experienced similar feelings with other quarterbacks, namely Mitchell Trubisky, only for it to fall apart in the years after. But this one feels different. It’s only a matter of time before the Bears have a meteoric rise comparable to that of 2018. This time, however, it won’t be a fluke.
