FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Every time Bears quarterback Justin Fields does this, hope surges that he still might prove himself to be a star.
Fields was far from perfect Monday against the Patriots, but he was electric and led the Bears to a stunning and sparkling 33-14 victory at Gillette Stadium. In 50 years of sporadic matchups in this series, the Bears never had won in Foxborough.
While these aren’t the Tom Brady-era perennial Super Bowl contenders, the Patriots still brought a top-10 defense into the game and were an 8½-point favorite at kickoff. It was more than most thought the Bears could handle. And they delivered their best performance of the season.
The Bears looked different from the start. The defense forced the Patriots into three-and-outs on their first two possessions, and Fields responded by leading the offense to points each time.
‘‘It’s one performance, but it’s important,’’ Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. ‘‘The whole country was watching us. It builds confidence for the guys.’’
The Bears eventually backslid and coughed up their early 10-0 lead, but they got back on top by halftime at 20-14. Then they opened the second half with a pair of field goals and had control of the game, ahead 26-14.
Along the way, Fields deciphered Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s ever-complicated defensive scheme and made big plays as a runner and a passer. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 179 yards with a touchdown and an interception for an 85.2 passer rating and added 82 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Neither his passing nor rushing totals were overwhelming, but the combination of both elements made him special. He used them in tandem, keeping the Patriots guessing and off-balance as he dodged pass rushers and bought time to look downfield.
‘‘That creates issues sometimes for the defense,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘When you have a quarterback that has designed run and run-pass [option] off of it and has the ability to scramble, that’s a big piece. It’s hard to defend those guys.’’
Essentially, Fields did everything the Bears have been asking him to do. And he did it against a defense that had allowed opposing quarterbacks only an 81.1 passer rating for the season.
His defense backed him up, too. Every aspect of the team in some way connects to Fields’ development. It was a direct benefit to him that the Patriots had only two drives longer than four plays among their first nine and were so bad early that they benched quarterback Mac Jones.
Actually, Bears safety Jaquan Brisker benched Jones.
Three plays after Jones caught Brisker in the groin with his cleat as he slid at the end of a run, Brisker came through with an unbelievable interception, the first of his career. As Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith drifted down the right sideline for what would have been a first-down catch in scoring range, Brisker raced in and picked off the pass with one hand.
Quite the revenge. It might have ended Jones’ run as the Patriots’ starter.
‘‘If we keep rolling like this with everybody doing their job, we’re just getting warmed up,’’ Brisker said. ‘‘We’re building our chemistry up, and we’re just gonna keep going.’’
The Bears buckled under a Bailey Zappe-charged burst after he replaced Jones — he had 97 yards and a touchdown on his first four throws — but quickly resettled.
Fields kept the offense moving throughout. The Bears scored on seven of their first 10 possessions before forfeiting another potential score at the end.
But they’ve seen this before. What matters most is whether Fields can make this type of impact regularly.
Fields played a similarly impressive game two weeks earlier against the Vikings that looked like yet another breakthrough, then fell flat and got pummeled behind a faulty offensive line in a home loss to the Commanders.
And it was at about this time last season that he led a near-comeback against the Steelers on the same national stage on ‘‘Monday Night Football,’’ only to sputter the next week against the Ravens before exiting with an injury. He played only two games the rest of the season, and they weren’t good.
It’s certainly frustrating for Fields, but this is how it’ll be until he truly gains traction: This game was nice, but he has to do it again. And again. And again.
General manager Ryan Poles said before the game that he was encouraged by Fields showing ‘‘flashes’’ of potential, but any quarterback can do that. It’s the ability to string them together that makes someone the future of the franchise.
Mitch Trubisky played great games occasionally. Aaron Rodgers has made a career out of doing it all the time.
‘‘He’s gotta keep stacking games together,’’ Eberflus acknowledged.
Fields needs to use this as a launching point in his young career and reach a level where this type of performance is the expectation, not a surprise.
