Justin Fields, short-handed Bears shut down by Vikings

It’s the kind of play that Justin Fields was built for.

The Bears faced fourth-and-1 from the Vikings’ 21 in the third quarter of Monday night’s 17-9 loss Monday night. They lined up receiver Darnell Mooney behind and to the right of the rookie quarterback. He took the snap from under center, rolled right and looked downfield for someone — anyone to pop open. Fields ran across the hash and toward the numbers. He took two jabs steps, as if he was going to run, only to see two Vikings defenders line up to tackle him.

Mooney was covered in the flat. Tight end Cole Kmet slipped and fell, stood up and was covered. Running back Khalil Herbert flashed open running a crossing route from left to right — but not for long.

Tight end Jimmy Graham ran up the field when Fields scrambled and put his left hand in the air as he sprinted toward the navy NFC logo in the north end zone.

He was wide open — but, by then, Fields was worried about the oncoming tacklers. Fields kept running toward the sideline and eventually swallowed the ball. He was tackled by three Vikings defenders; in fact, the six closest players to Fields when he fell to the ground were wearing purple.

Vikings ball.

It encapsulated Fields’ rookie season perfectly. He’s shown flashes of being special — but not special enough to overcome the circumstances of the Bears’ season. And not often enough, either.

Some are of his own making — Fields had three fumbles and lost one Monday night, continuing a disturbing trend — and many aren’t. He played on a roster ravaged by the coronavirus Monday night. By the time the Bears went for it on fourth down, Fields was down three receivers — Allen Robinson, Marquise Goodwin and Jakeem Grant — and both his starting tackles from the previous week.

Fields ran a fourth-down play that seemed misguided from the get-go, called by a head coach — Matt Nagy — who spent another game punting in cases when he should, given the fact he’s coaching a 4-9 team with nothing to lose — go for it.

How much of the Bears’ struggles is Fields? How much is inexperience to blame? His coaches? The personnel that’s been inferior to their opponent in almost every game?

The Bears have three weeks to try to find some answers. After that, new leadership — definitely at head coach and perhaps at general manager — will do the same.

Amazingly, the Bears rookie quarterback has played four of his 12 NFL games — including Monday night — in prime time. Whether he’s actually ready for prime time, though, is a different question. And one that could be answered on the next three anonymous Sunday afternoons — against the Seahawks, Giants and Vikings again.

Fields did little to separate himself again Monday night, the latest in a disturbing series of popgun performances.

Throw away Fields’ second half in Pittsburgh, and here’s what Fields’ stat line looked like entering the Monday night game: 121-for-213 for 1,356 yards, five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. That’s a passer rating of — wait for it — 64.21.

The lack of results has sent panic through Bears fans. If he were special, would it be apparent by now? That would seem obvious, until you scan the bottom of the NFL’s passer rating list. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson is 32nd. The Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence is 30th. The Texans’ Davis Mills is 27th. All are rookies. Fields was 31st.

Fields’ stats looked better than they were Monday. He went 26-for-39 for 285 yards and one touchdown — but 36 of those yards and the only score came on the final two plays of the game, when the Vikings were playing shell coverage.

Another glimpse of Fields’ talent came later in Monday night’s game. The Bears methodically marched 81 yards — they had seven first downs — in which their best play was Fields getting bullied. Twice, the Vikings were flagged for hitting Fields late.

On third-and-goal at the 9, Fields rolled left, scanned the end zone and saw Graham boxing out his defender near the front left pylon. Graham was covered, but that has rarely made a difference — few tight ends in the history of football have been better in the red zone. Fields threw the ball to Graham, who reached out with both hands — and dropped it.

On fourth down, Fields lofted a pass in the back right corner to a leaping Mooney, who got his right foot down — but no more — as he fell out of bounds.

It was another near miss. It’s too soon to say the same about Fields — but the next complete game he plays will be his first.

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