Bears quarterback Justin Fields has emerged as one of the NFL’s most exciting young players, and people are certainly taking notice.
Fields had another record-setting performance against the top-ranked Eagles defense, where he set Chicago’s single-season rushing record for a quarterback and eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards on the season, joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson as the only quarterbacks to accomplish the feat.
“I’m going to improvise, try to do whatever I can to put as much points on the board as possible,” Fields said after the game.
Fields completed 14-of-21 passes for 152 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 119.5 passer rating. He added 95 rushing yards on 15 carries. What was most impressive was how Fields managed to dazzle despite being down his top four receivers and best offensive lineman (Teven Jenkins). Not to mention, all while coming under immense fire (to the tune of six sacks) by a dominant Philly front.
Here’s what Bears and Eagles players and coaches had to say about Fields after his performance in Week 15:
Eagles CB Darius Slay
“Great player, man,” Slay said. “Tough dude. Great competitor. He’s a highlight reel. He can make a lot of plays with his feet and his arm. Chicago has got a good upside with him coming up. When his time comes, it’s not going to be a shock to me when everybody sees how good he is. He’s going to be a real solid kid and a real good quarterback.”
Eagles EDGE Haason Reddick
“He’s a great talent at the quarterback position,” Reddick said. “He’s out there, he’s making it happen with his feet. He’s trying to get it done any way possible, whether it’s using his arm, running — he’s just trying to get it done. He’s a great competitor, relentless competitor because he took some big hits and just kept going.
“When we were watching the tape, we knew we had a tough challenge, but you also knew we would have opportunities. It’s just about what happens once you get there. It’s a 50-50 thing. I could have had three, four (sacks). I got him twice. Twice he got away. You’ve got to look at it like that. He’s not a stationary QB. He can move well, and not only that, he’s fast as hell.”
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni
“He’s got some special abilities,” Sirianni said. “I know our quarterback (Jalen Hurts) is special as well. But give Justin Fields a lot of love right there because you see him — you see it on tape and how good he is — and you see it up close and personal and he’s special. It’s good for the NFL that two young quarterbacks going at it today are going to be good quarterbacks in the NFL for a while.”
Bears WR Byron Pringle
“Justin impresses the world,” Pringle said. “That’s no question about Justin. You never know what you’re going to get. I grew up watching Michael Vick, and he can move just like him. You never know. Justin can throw it, he can run it, he can beat you. He’s strong. He’s a strong individual when he’s running the ball.”
Bears HC Matt Eberflus
“He can get from zero to 60 really fast, so I think that’s what makes him a little bit different,” Eberflus said. “Some guys are shifty. I think he’s more of a power cutter when you look at him, and he can really put the gas on pretty fast.”
Bears TE Cole Kmet
“That’s pretty impressive when you can rush like that, and a lot of those coming from ad-lib and whatnot,” Kmet said. “The way he’s able to run through arm tackles and all those things down the field is pretty cool. When you’ve got a guy like that, he’s always fighting, and you know you’ve got a chance.”
