The Chicago Bears defeated the Houston Texans on Sunday as Texans’ quarterback Davis Mills gift-wrapped an interception to Bears’ linebacker Roquan Smith and the interception return fortunately already put the team in position for the game-winning field goal to be kicked by Cairo Santos.
The Bears are now 2-1 on the season as they prepare to face the New York Giants next Sunday but the week ahead will see uncomfortable conversations surrounding second-year quarterback Justin Fields.
Fields was bad on Sunday against the Texans. Fields being bad on Sunday against the Texans was much different than how Fields was bad against the Green Bay Packers last week.
Unlike the gameplan against the Packers, the Bears tried to set up Fields with easy completions and designed rollouts in the opening series against the Texans on Sunday. The issue is that Fields’ poor footwork and inability to hit on his mechanics prevented him from ever finding a rhythm on Sunday.
Fields completed only 8 passes on 17 attempts while throwing two interceptions that were directly derived from his poor decision-making.
Fields’ apologists will say that the offensive line was not good and point to the five sacks that were allowed. While the offensive line was not great, there were ample plays to be made where Fields could step up in the pocket and deliver the throw to an open receiver. Instead, Fields’ chicken feet often led to an erratic throw.
Fields’ apologist will say that the Bears have a lack of talent and that is why he is struggling. No. Regardless of the names that are on the backs of the Bears’ uniforms, there are open receivers that Fields simply isn’t seeing or overthrowing.
The Chicago Bears won on Sunday against the Houston Texans but Justin Fields’ performance only heightens the concern about the overall rebuild.
Fields’ apologists will say that the Bears have to pass the ball more than 17 times to get a true gauge of where he is as a quarterback. No. Going into the season, the expectation was for the Bears to be a run-oriented offense while creating opportunities for Fields on play-action passes and designed rollouts. Those opportunities were the exact ones that Fields was missing on during Sunday’s victory against the Texans.
Fields does not need apologists. There are going to be games in which Fields is the worst player on the field. Sunday was one of those games. That is why, despite the victory, Sunday was a deflating feeling for the Bears.
Fortunately for the Bears, Fields has yet to have a full season as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Sunday was undoubtedly a step backward in regard to Fields’ efforts to become the franchise quarterback for the Bears but the jury is still out. This conversation will continue on a week-by-week basis for the Bears and Fields no matter how many empty victories the team has.
