Nothing was simple for the Bears’ passing attack last season. It rarely has been easy on the back fields of training camp this year.
On Saturday, however, it was — twice.
By the time quarterback Justin Fields finished his quarter of work in the Bears’ 23-17 victory in their preseason opener against the Titans, he had completed all three passes he threw for 129 yards and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
No presumptive Week 1 starter had thrown two touchdown passes in the Bears’ preseason opener in this millennium. Fields threw two — one for 62 yards and the next for 56 — five minutes apart. Both were screens, which meant that Fields threw the ball three yards shy of the line of scrimmage on the first touchdown and one yard short of it on the next. The receivers, running backs and linemen did most of the hard work.
Fields sent the Soldier Field faithful home armed not only with hope, but with the proof of concept that the Bears’ decision to surround him with offensive upgrades was a wiser course of action than drafting a passer first overall.
In that sense, Saturday was an even better day for the offense than it was for Fields, even if it came against a Titans defense made up mostly of second-stringers.
‘‘When you increase your skill on your football team, the catch-and-runs get larger and the stat lines look better,’’ coach Matt Eberflus said.
Imagine that.
While the Bears led the NFL in salary paid to players no longer on their roster last season, Fields was running for his life and throwing to a receiving corps filled with also-rans. Knowing he needed to decide this season whether Fields would be the Bears’ quarterback of the future, general manager Ryan Poles set about surrounding him with firepower. When he traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers, he landed DJ Moore, who’s already the best pro receiver with whom Fields has played.
The first time Moore touched the ball in a Bears uniform, he took a screen 62 yards up the left sideline. On second-and-eight from the Bears’ 38, Fields threw quickly to Moore, who sprinted behind blocks from receiver Darnell Mooney, left tackle Braxton Jones and left guard Teven Jenkins for the score. He was never touched.
‘‘I told him, ‘That might be legendary right there,’ ’’ Fields said.
After having to do most of the work last season, Fields was happy to watch.
‘‘A quarterback always wants that in his back pocket: Throw it to your playmakers and let them go score or make a big play out of it,’’ Moore said. ‘‘So just to have that, it probably calms their nerves.’’
It calmed Moore down, too. He admitted to having butterflies before the game, even as Jones predicted he would have a long reception.
Moore didn’t play another snap after his touchdown.
‘‘Get us off the field as fast as possible,’’ he said. ‘‘I tried to do that.’’
On third-and-eight on the Bears’ next drive, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy picked the perfect time for a screen. The Titans brought two blitzing linebackers, forcing Fields to roll left to buy running back Khalil Herbert, who had bluffed that he was pass-blocking, a second to pop open.
Herbert caught the pass and ran behind center Cody Whitehair, who made a crushing block on safety Shyheim Carter, and right guard Ja’Tyre Carter. By the time he finally was touched at the Titans’ 7, Herbert lowered his pads and muscled his way into the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown.
The Bears fine players who make long runs but get tackled inside the 5, and Herbert didn’t want to lose money.
‘‘It makes it easy for Justin to put the ball in our hands and just let us go do what we do,’’ Herbert said.
DJ MOORE FOR SIX
— NFL (@NFL) August 12, 2023
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The Bears moved Whitehair, their longest-tenured player, back to center this offseason. Jenkins went from right guard to left guard. Poles chose not to replace Jones at left tackle and, after he drafted Darnell Wright 10th overall, decided to keep him on the right side, which was his best position in college.
Then there’s the addition of Moore, as significant an upgrade as exists at any position in the NFC North. Moore’s touchdown catch was longer than any reception made by any Bears player last season. The 2022 Bears had a receiver post more than 62 receiving yards in a game only five times. Only Mooney did it more than once.
‘‘Every time you step on that field, it matters,’’ Moore said. ‘‘Preseason, regular season — you don’t get the stats from the preseason to the regular season, but you get the juice and the hype-ness.’’
A well-run #Bears screen is worth savoring: pic.twitter.com/7pGK3EWIrD
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) August 12, 2023
Excitement is relative in preseason games, but Fields had a small window to get the crowd going. The Bears planned for him to play seven to 10 snaps, knowing he would benefit more from joint practices this week against the Colts. The quick throws were a smart way to ensure Fields wouldn’t be hit.
The same logic should apply in the regular season. Fields was sacked on 14.75% of his dropbacks last season, the second-highest total in NFL history for someone with at least 300 passes.
‘‘Anytime you have those playmakers where you can throw the ball five yards, run a slant, and he can take it 60 yards, that makes my job easier, makes the O-line’s job easier,’’ Fields said. ‘‘After a period of time where you keep dinking and dunking those short passes, the defensive coordinator gets impatient and starts blitzing more, pressuring more, playing more man coverage, and that’s when those deep shots naturally happen.’’
Fields didn’t stick around long enough to try those deep throws. He didn’t have to.
