The biggest stage Justin Fields has ever played on as a pro will be the soft turf of Lambeau Field on Sunday.
That’s what happens when the franchise that drafted you gets eliminated from the playoffs 10 days after Thanksgiving, as the Bears did last year, and four days before Christmas, as was the case in 2021. This year’s Bears waited until Week 17 to be knocked out of the postseason, leaving Fields to try to play the role of spoiler in what could be his last game as Bear.
A win would be either Fields’ parting gift to Bears fans or his final argument to stay next year despite the franchise holding the No. 1 pick in a draft that’s considered to have two star college quarterbacks. The Packers need to beat the Bears to make the playoffs.
“I think it would mean a lot to the team, the fans, the city,” Fields said of beating the Packers on Wednesday. “I think it’d be great. We know Green Bay’s playing for a lot, what’s at stake. They’re playing for a playoff spot right now. So I just think that with all of that on the table it would be a great feeling to end the season with a win in Lambeau up there.”
That’s never happened to Fields before. He’s 0-5 in his career against the Packers, having posted a 72.8 passer rating against the Bears’ rivals. He’s thrown two touchdowns to the Packers — pick-sixes in Week 1 and in December 2021 — and four to his own teammates. He has almost twice as many interceptions (7) and touchdowns (4) in the NFL’s most famous rivalry game.
“It’s going to be a fun environment to walk into their home field,” Fields said. “I know their fans are going to be loud — because there’s not much to do in Green Bay except watch football — but it’s going to be a great environment to us to play in and hopefully have a great game and get the [win].”
It might even change his future. Maybe.
Despite endorsements from his teammates, Fields still appears to be fighting an uphill battle to be the Bears’ quarterback of the future. The lure of having cost-controlled USC star Caleb Williams for five seasons would trump the certainty of all but maybe 10 quarterbacks in the league. Keeping Fields and trading No. 1 overall, though, would come with a treasure trove of draft picks that would trump what the Panthers gave up for the Bears’ own No. 1 pick last year — and certainly more than the Bears would get by dealing Fields. Their offense, with Fields, would have a higher floor in a 2024 season that will have justifiable playoff expectations.
The McCaskey family takes the Packers rivalry seriously. Finishing the season with a star turn at Lambeau Field could mean more to Fields’ bosses than all his strong performances this season combined. As the Bears brain trust gets ready to debate the merits of drafting a passer, Fields has a chance to stand above the rest of the franchise’s since-discarded quarterbacks.
The Bears’ leading passer in each of the last 15 years — Justin Fields, Mitch Trubisky, Jay Cutler and Matt Barkley — are a combined 3-23 against the Packers since 2009. Their combined passer rating in the rivalry game: 71.6.
Cutler was the last Bears quarterback to win at Lambeau Field, in 2014. Trubisky beat the Packers once in four seasons — and that was at home to clinch the 2018 NFC North crown.
Fields was careful Wednesday not to put too much emphasis on the rivalry — or the fact the Packers smacked the Bears 38-20 in the season opener. It’s clear that the latter gnaws on the players, though.
“We want to win every game,” he said, “no matter if it’s against the Deerfield Park Whatever Team or the Green Bay Packers.”
Fields is coming off maybe his best game as a Bear, a proof-of-concept performance — both for himself and the Bears offensive scheme — against the Falcons. He threw for 268 yards and one touchdown and ran for 45 yards and another score in a 37-17 win at Soldier Field.
Fields was asked whether the dominant performance gave him any satisfaction.
“I’m just doing my job …” he said. “I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. In my eyes, I could’ve played better. Didn’t play good enough … Good team win.”
Pressed about his future at various points this year, Fields has claimed he merely tries to maintain focus on the next game. He did the same Wednesday when asked what he expects when the season ends, saying he wanted to stay in the moment.
“I don’t even know if we’re going to get to next week, so I’m just worried about the rest of the day and the rest of the night,” he said. “So I’ve got these meetings I’m about to head to. … We’ve got a game Sunday. I’m not focused on what happens after that.”
What he does Sunday, though, could dictate what happens next.
