Justin Fields’ only future is now.
“I’ve got too much to focus on today to worry about tomorrow,” the Bears quarterback said Wednesday after practice. “I’ve got to worry about this new game plan I’ve got, the play calls. Like I always say, we don’t know if we’re going to get a tomorrow. So there’s no point in stressing about tomorrow if we don’t know it’s going to be here yet.”
With the Bears 6-9, with only a sliver of a chance to make the playoffs with two games remaining in the regular season (1%, according to the New York Times playoff calculator), Fields future is the talk of the town outside of Halas Hall. But that incessant, exasperating chatter is in sharp contrast to the inner peace Fields himself is feeling as he focuses on the only thing that matters to him this week — beating the Falcons on Sunday at Soldier Field.
“Shoot, none of us really have control over our future,” Fields said. “The only person who really has control over it is God and if he has control over it, then I’m good. So whatever he does with my life, I’m good with that. I’ve been in this position before, so there’s no point [worrying about the future], because He’s gong to take care of everything for me. So I’ll be good.”
So, regardless of what the future holds, Fields will continue staying focused on trying to control only what he can control. And after a 27-16 victory over the Cardinals at Soldier Field, a big emphasis is on Fields and the offense finishing what they started.
Fields had a 138.1 passer rating with 119 passing yards as the Bears scored a touchdown on three consecutive drives to build a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. But his passer rating dropped to 25.1 in the final two-and-a-half quarters, with 51 passing yards and an interception, as the offense stalled — producing just two field goals in its final seven drives.
So even though the offense came within one point of its weekly goal of scoring 28 points, Fields was not satisfied.
“Nah, because I feel like we could have scored more if I would have thrown a better ball to Khalil on that pick [in the end zone]. That was a potential touchdown there,” Fields said. “Twenty one points in the first half — you’ve got to score more than six point in the whole second half. So we left more out there. So [it’s about] cleaning up those details and focusing on sustaining that hot start throughout the whole game.”
Fields puts much of that on himself. Though offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s game plans and approach get much of the blame for the Bears offense’s inability to sustain much, Fields said he feels the coaching staff has put him in the best position to succeed, “[in] all the ways you can think of — the pass and running the ball, play-action, all of that,” he said.
The Bears offense has struggled with consistency and finishing all season. Even in victory against the Cardinals, Fields could not ignore the problem.
“I think it might be a mixture of execution and a little bit of complacency,” Fields said. “We’ve had too many instances this year where we’ve had a lead and given it up.
The complacency issue is one that, as the quarterback and leader of the team, Fields feels he can do something about.
“My job is to stay on those guys and make sure we’re focused on every detail each play we’re out there. My goal is to score on every drive. If I do see that lull in the offense and everybody else, just try to get everybody up.
“We’re working on that and trying to sustain that hot start we had last week — just starting that way every game and sustaining that through four quarters.”
