I don’t want to say Daniel Jones seems slow, but he looks like Johnny Unitas when he runs. Dead Johnny Unitas. Losing because of Jones’ galloping was way down on my list of ways the Bears could fall to the Giants on Sunday.
A muffed punt by a rookie punt returner in the final minutes of the game, which did happen to the Bears? Yes, I could have seen that coming.
Another blah effort by the Bears’ offense? Of course. That possibility was a given.
But watching a gangly quarterback lumber down the field because the Bears thought Saquon Barkley had the ball on every single run play, well, no. I didn’t see that happening in a million years. What a bizarre way to lose. But lose they did, 20-12 to a team that looked a lot like the Bears.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields had his best effort of the season, which, sure, isn’t saying much, seeing as how he had been forbidden to throw in the first three games. He was especially good running the ball Sunday, but it says something about the Bears’ afternoon that his effort was overshadowed by Jones’ running. Jones scored both Giants touchdowns, one a 21-yard rush on which he went untouched. Most Bears defenders were under the mistaken impression that Barkley had the ball off the bootleg. Imagine their surprise.
You wanted progress from the Bears’ offense? There were a couple of bright spots, but that was about it. Fields and Darnell Mooney connected on a 56-yard completion in the first quarter, a classic example of what other towns call a “forward pass.” A lovely throw by Fields and an excellent catch by Mooney. But it led to a field goal, which was a thing Sunday. The Bears could never answer, could never take advantage of Giants turnovers, could never finish. They could kick four field goals, though, thanks to Michael Badgley, filling in for Cairo Santos, who was out with a personal issue.
“I see positivity in the passing game,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said afterward.
Hmmmm. When the dust settled, Fields had completed 11 of 22 passes for 174 yards. He had no touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 76.7. He fumbled once. So progress wasn’t readily evident, possibly because it wasn’t there. What was apparent was that, when the Bears do try to throw the ball more, their offensive line struggles. The Giants sacked Fields six times. He was able to escape on several occasions, rushing for 52 yards on seven carries, but all that did was resurrect the discussion about the chances of Fields getting his head knocked off one of these days.
The Bears are at their best offensively when he’s a threat to run. It gives him more time to throw. But there figures to be a reckoning.
His 22 passes Sunday almost doubled his output from the first three games of the season. That’s good. It’s the only way to find out if the Bears have a quarterback. But it’s a difficult evaluation, because of his own challenges and because of the challenges of the people around him. There will be people who mistake Fields’ running for his life Sunday with steps being taken in his development. The buyer might want to beware.
“We just need everybody to do their job,” Fields said of the Bears’ balky offense.
That would include general manager Ryan Poles.
Also, any time the hordes want to stop blaming former coach Matt Nagy for everything, that would be good.
The Bears are 2-2, better than many fans and critics thought they’d be at this point, but still full of question marks. They can run the ball, but to what end? To win games? As noted over and over, that’s not the point of the season. It’s to find out what they have in Fields. It’s not an easy road. It’s not an easy watch, either. Not these days. When Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had to be stretched off the field Thursday night, it wasn’t just a reminder of the holes in the NFL’s concussion monitoring system. It was a brutal reminder of how truly vulnerable a quarterback can be.
It’s fun to watch Fields running around the field. Watching race cars go fast can be fun, too. But a crash is in the back of your mind in both sports.
If you’re worried to distraction about Fields’ health, I’d suggest switching your allegiance to the Giants’ Jones. He seems to run untouched most of the time.
