Some coaches refuse to play their starting quarterbacks in preseason games.
That’s not Matt Eberflus — or at least not yet.
The Bears’ head coach said Wednesday that Justin Fields will start against the Titans on Saturday at Soldier Field. That’s less a matter of philosophy as it is a testament to where he currently stands in the development of the Bears’ offense.
“I just think you gauge it year-by-year,” he said. “And you make an educated decision based on what your offensive coordinator’s saying to you and what your quarterback coach is saying to you and what you see with your eyes as the head football coach. And you just take in all the information and make a decision. And that’s the decision we made.”
Whether he regrets it depends on whether anyone steps on Fields’ ankle or hits him late after he slides Saturday. That risk-reward is optional in August, but it’s nothing new for the regular season. Fields’ health — now, Saturday and every Sunday from Labor Day to President’s Day — is of ultimate importance to the franchise. With Fields eligible for a contract extension starting in January, the Bears need to find out this season whether he’s their franchise quarterback. They won’t be able to if he’s too hurt to take the field.
The Bears would undoubtedly prefer Fields to be so undeniable in training camp that they wouldn’t need to learn anything about him from their three preseason games. Instead, he’s been inconsistent from day-to-day in practice. He’s further along than he was at this time last year, though — he has, for the first time in his pro career, the same coaches and playbook from the previous season.
Fields played 18 snaps — 27 percent of the Bears’ plays — in last year’s preseason opener. The Bears went three-and-out in their first drive, punted after getting one first down in the second drive and got three first downs before punting on the third. Fields went 4-for-7 for 48 yards, was sacked twice and ran once for 10 yards against the Chiefs. The final two stats — sacks and quarterback runs — would best be avoided Saturday.
Other teams show more caution than the Bears. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has never taken a preseason snap. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t since 2018. Matthew Stafford and Dak Prescott haven’t since 2019.
Those quarterbacks are established, though. Fields is not. Asked what he wanted to see from his quarterback, Eberflus rattled off quarterback basics: lead an efficient huddle, make the right decisions to audible plays and change pass protection at the line of scrimmage, and then run the play properly.
Eberflus wouldn’t specify the range of snaps he expects Fields to play, but it’d be surprising if he got as much action as he did last year. The Bears have been more cautious with contact during practice this training camp than in Eberflus’ first.
The coach vowed to be careful. Expect Fields to hand off and make quick throws.
“You’re always mindful of that — certainly with your starting quarterback,” he said. “You know, who’s aligned in front of him? You’re always mindful of that. And what types of plays. So, we’re always discussing that. He’s gonna be in there in playing.”
Every snap Fields takes figures to be behind the starting offensive line. Four of the five are healthy — all but big-money free-agent addition Nate Davis, who sat out again Wednesday.
“The thought process is always the same — we protect forever,” left tackle Braxton Jones said. “You don’t ever want to give up QB hits, pressure, anything like that. …. The starters are starters for a reason, we’ll go in there with the same mindset to protect as long as we can and keep Justin upright.”
The Bears can only hope.
