Chicago Sports

ATLANTA — There was a lot to like about how Bears quarterback Justin Fields played Sunday — until the very end.

But every play counts as the Bears assess whether Fields is their guy, and there are major concerns about the way everything fell apart in the final minutes of a 27-24 loss to the Falcons. Not only did Fields throw the game away on an interception, but he suffered an injury that could limit his progress going forward.

So which do you want first, the bad news or the bad news?

Since everything is big-picture with Fields, let’s start with him hurting his left, non-throwing shoulder. The only downside to how he has flourished this season has been the underlying worry that a bad hit could ruin it at any time, and that’s the same risk any team accepts when it builds around a dual-threat quarterback.

Fields got his chance at a long-coveted comeback with 1:47 left from his own 25-yard line, down three. But on a curious call by offensive coordinator Luke Getsy to begin the drive, Fields raced left on a designed run and got knocked out of bounds by cornerback Dee Alford and landed hard on his left shoulder.

Fields stayed in the game, which lasted just two more plays for him as he ran a draw on second down — another ill-conceived choice by Getsy — and threw a pick on third, but was clearly struggling and kept grabbing his shoulder. For someone who rarely acknowledges being hurt, that’s telling.

The tone from him and coach Matt Eberflus was that the injury wasn’t anything disastrous, but Fields was taken for an x-ray right after the game and there was uncertainty about how it would affect him leading up to the visit to the Jets next week.

If it’s a separated shoulder, and that’s problematic on two fronts: Even though it’s his non-throwing arm, he said it hinders his throwing motion, and it’s a huge issue when it comes to running.

He pushed that aside the best he could in the moment.

“I was hurting, but it was the last drive of the game,” said Fields, who also battled cramps throughout the second half. “I tried to be there for my teammates and fight through the pain.”

Nonetheless, he was “hurting a good bit” and said after the game the discomfort remained intense.

The figurative pain of how he lost was almost as bad, especially following late-game shortfalls against the Lions and Dolphins the last two weeks.

On third-and-five with 1:07 left, Fields had time in the pocket and threw for running back David Montgomery at the first-down marker, but sent it high. Fields twisted to his left and hopped as he threw, and the ball skipped off Montgomery’s fingers into safety Jaylinn Hawkins’ hands.

In one regard, that’s more troubling than the pick-six he threw against the Lions. That mistake could be written off as an aberration by a quarterback who typically plays prudently, but the interception he threw in Atlanta resulted from an accuracy issue that has been an ongoing concern.

Between the injury and interception, the ending undercut an otherwise promising day.

Fields didn’t break any records or deliver a viral highlight, but he doesn’t need to be remarkable every game. He’s establishing a clear expectation of what he’ll give the Bears on a regular basis, and that’s an essential aspect of being a franchise quarterback. He is becoming consistent and dependable — adjectives that haven’t fit a Bears quarterback in decades.

Before the interception, Fields had completed 14 of 20 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown for a 109.0 passer rating and rushed 18 times for 85 yards and a touchdown. His final throw dinged 25 points off his rating and put a similar dent in how his overall day looked.

Still, Fields’ best plays were throwing, which is encouraging because that’s where he most needs to improve.

His 16-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney on the opening drive was precise to the millimeter — “beautiful,” Eberflus called it. Tight end Cole Kmet will get all the hype for his spectacular 24-yard one-handed catch in the second quarter — rightfully so, because he did an incredible job hanging on to it as he got drilled by Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell — but he mentioned unprompted that Fields hit bullseye on the throw.

And his 32-yard throw up the right sideline to Montgomery early in the fourth was arguably his best of the season. Fields rolled right under pressure, pointed to redirect Montgomery from an out route to a deep ball, then threw across his body to fire the ball perfectly ahead of him, and Montgomery caught it in stride against tight coverage by linebacker Lorenzo Carter.

“That thing was on a dime,” Eberflus said. “That was excellent… He had a lot of good plays out there, and he just keeps growing and growing and getting better and better.”

It’s going to be choppy at times, and that interception at the end made everyone uneasy, but it’s undeniable that Fields is building. The question, now that he’s hurt, is whether he’ll be able to continue that trajectory.

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While most of the focus will be on quarterback Justin Fields getting injured and intercepted late in the Bears’ 27-24 loss to the Falcons on Sunday, here are three other details that stand out:

Clamoring for Claypool

New wide receiver Chase Claypool continued to have a muted role in the offense. Fields targeted him just three times, and he caught two passes for 11 yards. In three games with the Bears, Claypool has five catches for 32 yards on 11 targets.

Baby steps

This was the first time the Bears kept an opponent under 30 points since beating the Patriots. Safety Jaquan Brisker forced a fumble that led to a touchdown, they held the Falcons to 2 of 9 on third-down conversions and they allowed just two offensive touchdowns.

Gold rush

The Bears rushed for 160 yards, led by Fields at 85 and running back David Montgomery with 67 (he also had 54 as a receiver). They ran 41 times, marking their fifth game of 40 or more. They ran 40-plus times in a game just once in Matt Nagy’s tenure. It also was Fields’ fifth game this season of 80-plus yards, a number he broke one time under Nagy.

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ATLANTA — If it weren’t for the excruciating pain in their quarterback’s left shoulder, Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Bears would have been almost indistinguishable for last week’s loss to the Lions.

“Same thing every week,” receiver Darnell Mooney said. “We have the ball in our hands at the end of the game, then don’t win the game.”

The Bears defense, of course, had the opposite complaint: letting the other team do just that late in the fourth quarter.

“To have it end up like this again, it’s tough,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “But we always have to come back.”

Whether they can will shape the final six weeks of the season.

No one pegged the Bears for a .500 team this season, much less one with legitimate playoff aspirations. But their losing streak, as much as it might help their draft position — they’re now projected to pick third — is threatening to cloud whatever growth is possible in front of them. That’s doubly true with quarterback Justin Fields nursing a shoulder injury that will either keep him out of Sunday’s game against the Jets or severely limit the plays the Bears can call for him. How will the Bears evaluate an offense built around Fields if he’s not there?

The Bears are in danger of having their season pulled further into the muck. There’s only one way out.

“Well, you end the losing streak,” Kmet said. “You get a win.”

When they take the field against the Jets, two months and one day will have passed since the Bears last had a winning record. They’ve lost seven of eight games since then — six by eight points or less and three by a field goal or less. They’ve lost four-straight games since their offensive breakthrough against the Patriots, the last three by a combined seven points.

“Obviously, we’re not accomplishing the main goal, which is winning,” coach Matt Eberflus said Sunday. “That’s an important thing. But there’s also another process to that … We’re building a football team here.”

Eberflus said it wouldn’t be difficult to help his players progress despite the losses — “Rely on their character,” he said — but, at some point, figuring out how to win is part of that development.

It’s unclear when they’ll get their next honest chance at it. The Jets are reeling after losing on a 84-yard punt return touchdown with 5 seconds to play Sunday — but still boast a 6-4 record. The Bears host both the AFC favorite Bills and NFC favorite Eagles in December, and have all three divisional opponents left on their schedule. They don’t figure to be favored at any point the rest of the way. Amazingly, their best chance of a win might be against the Packers.

“For sure, everything has a domino effect,” Mooney said. “You just have to create that effect. We were talking about that on the sidelines, like, ‘Hey let’s finish this one. This is the one we need to convert on.’ We just came up short.”

The Bears as a team don’t have much to play for — they could be eliminated from NFC North contention next week. But their players do.

“You have a locker room of guys who are young guys — and let’s face the fact, we have a lot of guys on one-year contracts — but specifically, a lot of young guys,” center Sam Mustipher said.

They’re not guaranteed anything beyond this season.

“Just keep getting better,” said Fields, one of the few who is. “Take each day on its own and just keep working. We control what we can control. What happened, it’s in the past now. Just keep preparing for the future and keep getting better.

“I know the character of our coaches and our team; they’re going to come to work and get ready to work. Just taking it each day, coming to work, and making the most out of each and every day.”

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ATLANTA — Cairo Santos’ streak of 21 consecutive field goals — which ranked second among active players — was snapped late in the first half Sunday when the Bears kicker missed a 56-yarder. Had Santos made the kick, it would have been the longest of his career by one yard. Santos thought his range Sunday was 58 yards. Instead, he left the kick short.

“I just hit it too wobbly,” he said. “The ball lost the power and dove down short.”

It didn’t help, he said, that the Bears were down to the second-string kicking ball. The first one went out of commission after Cordarrelle Patterson brought it back for his NFL-record ninth career kickoff return touchdown. Before each game, each team picks the three best kicking balls from warmups and give them to officials for game use.

After Santos’ miss, the Falcons inherited the ball at their own 46 with 1:10 to play. They drove for a 40-yard field goal before halftime.

This and that

o Cornerback Kyler Gordon left in the fourth quarter and was ruled out with a concussion.

o Right guard Teven Jenkins was active Sunday but did not play after telling coach Matt Eberflus before the game that his hip was hurting enough that he’d only be available in relief. Otherwise, Eberflus said, Jenkins could have rotated with Michael Schofield.

o Tight end Cole Kmet made the best catch of his career in the second quarter, snatching a 24-yard pass one-handed. He leapt, extended his right hand and caught the ball while being hit.

He praised Justin Fields’ pass and said he’d never made a better catch in the game.

“I thought it was pretty good,” he said.

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During two games this season, including the one Sunday in Atlanta, I tweeted that the Bears were going to get Justin Fields killed. Typical sports-talk overstatement. You’ll forgive my hyperbole.

I can’t rule out maiming, disfigurement or long-term disability checks in Fields’ future.

Whatever offensive coordinator Luke Getsy thought he was doing in the closing moments of the Bears’ 27-24 loss to the Falcons, he thought wrong. If he thought Fields was healthy, he was wrong. If he thought Fields could fight through whatever was bothering certain body parts, he was wrong. If he thought calling run plays for a clearly injured quarterback was a good idea, he was terribly wrong.

By the time Getsy was done calling plays Sunday afternoon, Fields looked like he had the physical complaints of an 85-year-old man. He was holding his left, non-throwing shoulder and walking gingerly, thanks to hamstring issues. The shoulder was the result of a hit on one play. Any additional pain was the result of the next play, one that never should have been called. The Falcons had just taken a 27-24 lead on Younghoe Koo’s 53-yard field goal. The Bears got the ball back at their own 25 with 1:47 left and three timeouts in their pocket.

On first down, Fields was pushed out of bounds after a 1-yard run and landed on his shoulder. When he stood up, he was grimacing. Not good. He already had been dealing with hamstring cramps, which had slowed him in the second half. Why Getsy had called a run play in that situation is Question No. 1.

On second down, Fields took a big hit on a 4-yard gain. It left him grabbing the same shoulder in pain. Question No. 2: Why on earth would Getsy call another run play after Fields’ noticeable discomfort on first down? This being the NFL, Getsy wasn’t available to reporters after the game. He won’t have to face the music from the media until Thursday, and by then, many of the ominous notes will have been toned down.

So it was left to Fields to explain things. And he did, right after he was done getting X-rays.

“I was hurting but, again, it was the last drive of the game so (I) tried to be there for my teammates and fight through the pain,” Fields said.

On third down, Fields overthrew David Montgomery. Falcons safety Jaylinn Hawkins picked off the pass, all but ending the game.

There’s no doubt the Bears reintroduced Chicago to excitement when they decided to make Fields’ running the showcase of their offense in mid-October. But the three-play sequence at the end of Sunday’s game magnified the scary part of that approach. It also demonstrated one of Fields’ shortcomings.

Ever since the Bears decided to be a run-first team, the question that hasn’t gone away is whether it’s sustainable. And by “sustainable,” I mean, “Will Fields need a mobility scooter by the end of the season?” The problem in Atlanta was that Fields clearly was banged up. TV cameras showed him getting both hamstrings worked on in the second half. Going into the final drive, there was no doubt something was wrong with him. He wasn’t running nearly as well as he had earlier in the game. You know, before he started wincing.

Getsy’s play-calling Sunday showed that the Bears’ offense is dangerously, almost obsessively reliant on the quarterback’s running. You can’t do that in the NFL, even with Fields, who has been brilliant the past six games. You’re asking for trouble. It’s impossible to believe that Getsy didn’t know Fields was struggling physically. He had a sideline view of the abuse the kid was taking.

This would be a good time to point out that Fields is not a piece in a chess game. He’s the Bears’ future. If Getsy doesn’t know that, he shouldn’t be calling plays.

The other thing the final drive showed was Fields’ difficulty in getting the ball over pass rushers. He had three passes knocked down Sunday, including one pass that hit the back of an offensive lineman’s helmet. Maybe that’s why he felt the need to jump to try to get his final pass over defensive linemen and into Montgomery’s hands. Instead, the pass sailed into Hawkins’ hands.

When I pushed for more passes from Fields in a column last week, social-media fanboys immediately descended on my clearly out-of-touch carcass. The most exciting Bears player since Walter Payton and you don’t want him to run? I like his running. I’d prefer that he survive the season. I’d prefer that his ability to run be used to enhance the pass game. That’s exactly what happened in the first quarter, when Fields overthrew an open Darnell Mooney on a bomb. The Falcons’ awareness/fear of the quarterback’s speed opened up that play.

If Getsy calls a few more pass plays in the final six games, Fields has a chance to progress as a passer. If he thinks Fields’ running is an end in itself, the kid isn’t going to last.

The quarterback has a long way to go. That probably will come as a surprise to the person who paid $90,000 for Fields rookie card at an auction last week.

There’s nothing wrong with Fields Fever. There’s a lot wrong with Getsy’s recklessness.

After the game, head coach Matt Eberflus explained a coordinator’s main job.

“Put our players in the best places to succeed, and our play calls should reflect that,” he said.

On Sunday, Fields was put in a dangerous place.

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Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields suffered a shoulder injury during Sunday’s game

Justin Fields was carted off the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after the team lost 27-24 to the Atlanta Falcons. He was seen earlier in the game receiving treatment for his hamstrings, and by the end of the game, his left shoulder was clearly in pain.

Justin Fields completed 14 of 21 passes for 153 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Falcons. He added 85 yards and a touchdown on 18 rushing attempts.

Per Adam Jahns of The Athletic, Fields was favoring his left (non-throwing) shoulder after the game and was taken to the locker room for further evaluation.

Fields was passed over by the Falcons in the 2021 draft in favor of tight end Kyle Pitts, who was also injured on Sunday. Justin Fields spent much of the game demonstrating to Atlanta fans what they could have had in-house, combining elusiveness and touch to score 17 points in a row. The highlight was finding Cole Kmet for an incredible one-handed catch.

But as the game progressed, it was clear that Fields was losing mobility and explosiveness, and by the time he had the chance to lead Chicago on a potential game-winning drive, he was clearly in too much pain to lead the Bears to victory.

The Chicago Bears have yet to provide an update on the health Justin Fields.

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ATLANTA — Bears quarterback Justin Fields hurt his left, non-throwing shoulder late in the 27-24 loss to the Falcons, and the injury was evaluated by medical staff immediately after the game.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus, who has given as little injury information as possible this season, said he would give an update on Fields on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming game at the Jets.

Falcons cornerback Dee Alford hit Fields at the end of a one-yard designed run as he went out of bounds with 1:42 left, and Fields landed on his left shoulder.

He scrambled on the next play, then threw an interception off running back David Montgomery’s fingertips for a game-ending interception.

Fields completed 14 of 21 passes for 153 yards with a touchdown to Darnell Mooney and the late interception for an 84.0 passer rating. He also ran 18 times for 85 yards and a touchdown.

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ATLANTA — Bears players were frustrated by what they thought were late hits on quarterback Justin Fields in Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Falcons.

“The league, if that was a different quarterback, they’d be throwing … a lot of flags,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “I feel like the league [has] gotta look at that. It’s crazy, you know, how many times he gets hit in the head, every single game, but he still gets up. Gets hit out of bounds late or near the [sideline].

“If that was Tom Brady, Jared Goff or anybody like that, they’d throw flags, immediately. Just like you seen today. They threw a flag on [a hit on Falcons quarterback Marcus] Mariota, and he tripped.”

Fields felt like he was hit late by Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett after he slid by on a second-and-nine draw play with 1:38 to play.

“I saw the contact,” center Sam Mustipher said. “That’s tough. That’s the way the cookie crumbles. They didn’t call it. I’ve seen it called both ways. … I woulda liked that call, for sure.”

So would Brisker.

“I feel like they gotta respect Justin some more and look at him as a quarterback,” Brisker said. “Obviously, there should be a lot more flags. He’s getting targeted every single game and none’s being thrown. …

“Maybe because he’s strong, he’s physical. I don’t know. He’s a quarterback. I feel like he should get the same. It should be equal. Like everybody else.”

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The Chicago Bears couldn’t finish against the Falcons

The Chicago Bears had their chances to win in Week 11. The Bears had another opportunity to win a game on their final drive. They failed to do so for the third straight week. The Bears’ coaching staff made some odd decisions in the game. The team activated Teven Jenkins but didn’t start him. The decision only looks worse after Fields was noticeably hurt after the game.

The Bears are now 3-8. Going to the playoffs is out of the question for this team. They will need to use their next six games to evaluate the talent they have and where they need to plot their offseason moves to make the Chicago Bears a contender again. They showed against the Falcons they’re close but just not quite there yet. Here are three studs and duds from the Bears’ loss to the Falcons.

Studs

Former Chicago Bears

The Bears saw quite a few former teammates in red jerseys Sunday. Several made positive plays against the Bears. Falcons return man and running back Cordarrelle Patterson had a kick return for a touchdown. He fumbled the ball early in the game but quickly made up for it. In the fourth quarter, Patterson had several vital runs to move the ball into scoring position and take the lead on their final drive. He finished with 52 yards on ten carries.

Defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson recorded a sack on the day. He finished with four tackles. Former Bears pass catchers Damiere Byrd and MyCole Pruitt had long receptions of 19 and 17. Current Falcons executive and former Bears general manager Ryan Pace did something for Chicago he couldn’t do during his tenure there. Set the team up for better draft capital.

Matt Eberflus’ in-game defensive adjustments

Eberflus has been criticized for his first-half defense getting rocked in the first half before he answers challenges in the locker room at halftime. His defense gave up an opening touchdown. After that drive, the Chicago Bears defense looked a lot more competitive. They gave up 20 total points on defense. (Patterson’s kick return touchdown accounted for the other seven points.)

With the Bears new explosive brew on offense, holding an opponent to 20 points should net the Bears a win. Not too bad with the roster the Bears have on defense after trading away their core players from 2021.

Fields passing

Fields looked more comfortable in the passing game against the Falcons. He ran the ball well, but Fields made crucial strides in his passing game. His only touchdown pass of the day was right on the money. Fields made some incredible throws in the fourth quarter to give the team a chance. Fields was an efficient 14-21 for 153 yards and one touchdown to one interception. (The interception was thrown high but hit the hands of his intended target.) Those are solid numbers for 21 attempts.

He orchestrated a pass to David Montgomery on the Chicago Bears’ last scoring drive, where he fought to keep the play alive and pointed to his running back where he needed to go. Fields hit his target, even if it took 12 seconds to do so. (That won’t help his “holding onto the ball too long” stat.) Unfortunately, the Bears’ chances ended on the next drive when Montgomery put his hands on a pass and couldn’t come up with it. The deflected pass went to a Falcons defender for a game-deciding interception.

Duds

Kyler Gordon

Gordon had a few nice plays. He had a drive where he had important back-to-back tackles. Other than that, the rookie continued to stink up the Chicago Bears’ secondary. Gordon gave up a touchdown reception to start the game. He’s been awful in coverage all season. Gordon continued that streak in Week 11. Gordon’s got to be better the rest of the season, or he’s quickly heading into “bust” territory.

The Chicago Bears’ offensive line

The Bears’ offensive line had a terrible day. Fields was sacked four times on the day. He was constantly running around in the backfield before he could attempt to throw downfield. The run blocking wasn’t much better. This falls on the offensive line that was on the field for sure.

However, why was Teven Jenkins active if he wasn’t going to see the field? The Bears kept their best offensive lineman on the sideline, resulting in a disaster. That’s on the coaching staff. It’s going to be hard for the Bears to get the ball to Chase Claypool if they can’t block long enough for his route to develop.

Trestan Ebner

The Chicago Bears tried the Ebner experiment. It failed. The 2022 sixth-round pick had a chance to get substantial playing time with running back Khalil Herbert going on the injured reserve. He didn’t do well as Montgomery’s backup. Ebner finished with eight yards on six carries. Just 1.3 yards per rush. Ebner’s performance was easily the worst by a Bears running back this season. 1.3 yards per rush is hard on an offense that runs consistently for over 200 yards a game.

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If anyone thought Sunday would be the kick off of the Zach LaVine apology tour, they just don’t know the Bulls guard very well.

While he’s always been considered a model teammate and easy to coach, LaVine is also as confident in his ability as anyone in the league.

So when he expressed his displeasure in Billy Donovan’s decision to sit him in crunch time after the Friday loss to Orlando, he meant it. A few days away from the eyes of the media wasn’t going to change that.

“I just told him I feel like I’ve earned the right to go out there and try to play through a bad game,” LaVine said of the discussion he had with his coach. “[Donovan’s] decision was to try to do the best thing for the team, which I respect. If we won, obviously I would’ve been ecstatic. We lost, I wasn’t. I had a terrible game.”

A fact that both LaVine and Donovan could agree on.

With the Bulls trailing the Magic and LaVine a dismal 1-for-14 from the field — including an 0-for-5 from three-point range — Donovan went to second-year guard Ayo Dosunmu over LaVine with just over three minutes left in the final quarter. It did more than work, as the Bulls took a four-point lead thanks to a Dosunmu blocked shot, and were well on their way to snapping a three-game losing streak with 26.5 seconds left.

Magic guard Jalen Suggs, however, had a different ending in mind, making two free throws, and then taking advantage of two Nikola Vucevic missed free throws, to hit the game-winning three with five seconds left.

“That’s Billy’s decision, he’s gotta lay with it,” LaVine said immediately afterward. “Do I agree with it? No. I think I can go out there and still be me even if I miss some shots.

“You play a guy like me down the stretch.”

LaVine also said he wanted to speak to Donovan about it, and the two did that.

“We’re all good,” LaVine said of his relationship with his coach. “I think he understands where I’m coming from and I understand his decision as a coach that he has to make are tough, even if your players don’t agree with it. And that’s just what it is.”

While LaVine admittedly had as bad a game as he could, his point was he should have at least been on the court when the Magic were forced to foul Vucevic.

“I told [Donovan] at the very least bring me in for free throws,” LaVine said. “I think I could’ve helped at least seal the game with free throws and help get the ball in bounds. I’m one of the best players on the court regardless of who’s playing and I think that I should be on the court in crunch time and that’s just the mentality I have.”

Donovan not only appreciated LaVine’s confidence, but also what came out of the talk the two had about the subject.

“I felt it was the right thing for our team,” Donovan said. “I totally get his competitiveness and his wanting to win and be out there. He should. You know, I think all great players want to be able to do that.

“The one thing I’ve always tried to do with all these guys is you try to have open communication. Am I going to agree with every decision these guys make between the lines when the game’s going on? No. Are they going to agree with every decision I’m going to make from the sideline? No. It happens. But I think, it’s all about where people’s intentions are. I trust Zach’s intentions. And hopefully he trusts my intentions.”

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