A Justin Fields injury was supposed to be devastating for the Bears, the last thing they needed. Now, it just seemed to move them closer to Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or the next guy.
To some Bears fans, even Tyson Bagent starting against the Raiders on Sunday comes with almost as much intrigue as resignation. That’s how bad things are going for the Bears and Matt Eberflus, as Fields’ development took another discouraging turn.
Just two weeks ago, Fields pointed to a third-and-nine completion to DJ Moore against the Broncos as a sign of his progress as a quarterback. With edge rusher Jonathon Cooper unblocked and immediately in his face, Fields reacted instantly and threw a dart to Moore for an 11-yard completion and a first down.
“We call those ‘no-flinch’ throws,” Fields said. “Just staying in the pocket and delivering a strike to DJ. He made a great catch and we converted on third down. That was one play I could take away from [that game] that I liked for sure.”
That was a sign of progress, but not quite a watershed moment in Fields’ development. Faced with a similar situation Sunday against the Vikings, Fields reacted very differently and fell short.
On the very first play from scrimmage, Vikings edge rusher D.J. Wonnum came in unblocked, forcing Fields again to react quickly and find the “hot” receiver — fullback Khari Blasingame or Moore. Only this time, Fields did nothing. He was sacked for a seven-yard loss.
Developing quarterbacks have to learn from their mistakes, but they also have to learn from their successes. And Fields seems to be struggling to do both. An old bugaboo — holding on to the ball too long — cropped up again on the sack Fields took when he dislocated his thumb. And his inability to make the same play vs. a free rusher that he made against the Broncos was yet another red flag.
And a weary Eberflus seems like he’s reaching a breaking point — acknowledging Fields’ culpability on both plays.
“The ball’s supposed to be delivered right there,” Eberflus said of the free-rusher play. “It’s an outside-in read, so it’s K.B. [Blasingame] to DJ [Moore]. So we’ve gotta float away from the pressure, deliver the pass.”
And he was in no mood to break down the sack/injury play.
“I’m not gonna get into all that detail of that,” Eberflus said. “I just know him being able to get rid of the ball a little bit faster, we would certainly like that so he wouldn’t take the hit.”
It leaves the Bears in familiar quarterback territory — no man’s land. Fields is inconsistent, unable to rise above the muck of the Bears offense and hurt for the third consecutive season. Bagent is the longest of long shots — an undrafted rookie from Division II in the hands of an organization that can’t even develop Fields at an acceptable rate. The Bears also have Nathan Peterman. And now Trace McSorley.
After a disappointing performance against the Vikings, it might not matter who is playing quarterback. At this point, any of them seem more likely to edge the Bears closer to starting all over again.
2. It’s unlikely the Bears will ever solve their quarterback problem until they fix their offensive line problem. With Ja’Tyre Carter likely to replace injured starter Nate Davis at right guard against the Raiders on Sunday (or Lucas Patrick starting for Cody Whitehair at center), this will be the Bears’ sixth different starting offensive line combination in seven games — and the 15th in 24 games in Eberflus’ two seasons.
Next-man up is a workable approach when all the other pieces are in place. But the lack of continuity from week to week is a recipe for disaster. Line coach Chris Morgan has used 30 different offensive line combinations in 23 games over the past two seasons.
3. It’s probably just a coincidence that rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott dropped the only pass Fields threw to him and caught two passes for 12 yards from Bagent — plus a nifty 17-yard catch that was incomplete because he landed out of bounds; plus a 36-yard gain on a pass interference penalty.
Let the record show that Scott loves all his quarterbacks. But Bagent seems like one of those quarterbacks whose demeanor instills confidence and focus in his teammates.
“When you have confidence in your teammates — when you trust that man next to you is going to do [his] job, it just makes things easier,” Scott said. “You want to fight even more for him — especially him, a rookie out there, put in a situation like that. You just want to fight for him.”
4. For What It’s Worth Dept.: With 10 days between games to prepare for the Vikings, the Bears had the worst opening play from scrimmage in the NFL on both offense and defense.
Fields was sacked for the seven-yard loss on the Bears’ first play. And they allowed 20 yards by the Vikings on their first defensive play from scrimmage — defensive tackle Andrew Billings’ neutral zone infraction, followed by Kirk Cousins’ 15-yard pass to Jordan Addison.
5. Is there hope for Velus Jones yet? The 2022 third-round pick from Tennessee already has been put in the “loss” column for general manager Ryan Poles. But the Bears haven’t given up on him.
Jones had an eventful day against the Vikings — kickoff returns of 37 and 34 yards, plus a 53-yard return that was called back by a penalty; a 17-yard run on a handoff; and he downed a punt at the Vikings’ 5-yard line.
“It definitely feels like a breakthrough,” Jones said. “I feel more relaxed now. I’ve been waiting to get my hands on [the ball], especially on kickoff returns. Everything’s starting to come back naturally — especially getting some touches on offense. That was cool as well.”
6. Poles’ thinking was correct when he traded for Chase Claypool last year — the 2023 free agent market for receivers was not promising. But the Bears will see one free agent receiver who is paying off Sunday — former Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers has 30 receptions for 335 yards (67.0 yards per game) and four touchdowns after signing a three-year, $33 million contract with the Raiders.
7. The Bears, who are last in the NFL in third-down conversions allowed, held the Vikings to 2-of-15 conversions (15.4%) — only the second time this season a team has held its opponent to 20% or less and still lost (2-15). … The Bears have been outscored 53-15 in the third quarter this season — their minus-38 differential is the worst in the NFL. … The Raiders have been outscored 34-6 in the third quarter, so something’s got to give Sunday. … Chase Claypool has yet to play for the Dolphins. He played 26 snaps for the Bears against the Dolphins four days after arriving at Halas Hall last year.
8. Jim Harbaugh Watch — The former Bears quarterback, who has turned Nazareth’s J.J McCarthy into a Heisman Trophy candidate (hmmm …) is now 32-3 in his last three seasons after No. 2 Michigan routed Indiana 52-7 on Saturday. The Wolverines have outscored its opponents 93-0 in the third quarter this season.
9. Ex-Bears Player of the Week — Raheem Mostert had 17 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns and three receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown in the Dolphins’ 42-21 rout of the Panthers at Hard Rock Stadium.
Mostert, who played 17 special teams snaps for the Bears in 2016, is a three-time Ex-Bear award winner already this season. He leads the NFL with nine rushing touchdowns and 11 total touchdowns.
10. Bear-ometer: 3-14 — vs. Raiders (L); at Chargers (L); at Saints (L); vs. Panthers (W); at Lions (L); at Vikings (L); vs. Lions (L); at Browns (L); vs. Cardinals (W); vs. Falcons (L); at Packers (L).
