Let’s start with what matters most in any preseason game: Bears quarterback Justin Fields is fine after taking a hard hit to the head and an unnerving near-miss with his right leg.
Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill inexplicably dropped his right shoulder into the left side of Fields as he slid at the end of a run for no gain in the first quarter. The hit sent Fields’ head whipping back, and he popped up with his arms out in disbelief that there was no flag.
That’s the last thing the Bears want to see in a preseason game.
But the next-to-last thing they want to see now, or even when the season starts, is a continuation of the murky circumstances that have made it so difficult to assess Fields since the day the Bears drafted him. The worst thing that can happen for the Bears this season is to get to the end of it and still not know whether Fields is their future.
It’s risky enough when Fields runs by design, but he was on the move for the wrong reasons quite a bit during the 19-14 win over the Chiefs because of breakdowns in blocking. He navigated the pressure well enough to get off the field intact after completing 4 of 7 passes for 48 yards and adding a 10-yard run. The Chiefs sacked him twice.
Fields arrived at third-and-six on his opening possession and barely had a chance. After his first read, he turned to his right and was eye-to-eye with Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, fresh off shoving right guard Michael Schofield aside. Jones wrapped him up for an eight-yard loss.
Most of Fields’ passes were under pressure, and while it’s still nearly a month until the start of the season, there’s cause for concern. The Bears should have starting center Lucas Patrick and projected right tackle Riley Reiff by then, and they were also down running back David Montgomery, tight end Cole Kmet and wide receivers Byron Pringle and Velus Jones.
Nonetheless, there’s no guarantee getting those players back would fix everything. While general manager Ryan Poles evaluates Fields, everyone else is evaluating Poles’ personnel choices around him.
But even with so many snags and snafus Saturday, Fields reminded everyone how he got this job in the first place. He played just 18 snaps, and that was enough to show that at his best, he has the talent to rise above the Bears’ many deficiencies.
His 10-yard run came as the pocket faltered on all sides, and he darted masterfully to escape it before ramping up to full speed. That’s going to help this season.
He flung a perfectly placed ball up the left sideline for wide receiver Darnell Mooney on a third-and-four that went for a 26-yard gain. Near the end of the first quarter, as Chiefs safety Deon Bush hit him from behind, Fields threw to a well-covered Tajae Sharpe on the right sideline for 19 yards. Fields hit the only spot where Sharpe even had a shot, and he made a ridiculous catch.
Ultimately, though, the results were far too familiar. In Fields’ three possessions, they punted three times and failed to advance past the Chiefs’ 43-yard line. The offense had a net gain of 78 yards.
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August 14, 2022 at 03:03AM
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Justin Fields shows he might be able to rise above Bears’ many concerns - Chicago Sun-Times
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