Justin Fields’ performance in his preseason debut Saturday that excited the masses also intrigued coach Matt Nagy — but not enough to change the Bears’ grand plan at quarterback. There is no competition for the starting job.
Andy Dalton still will be the Week 1 starter regardless of what happens in the preseason, Nagy reiterated Monday. But Fields will get more snaps with first-team offense and against the first-team defense.
Asked if Dalton is still the unchallenged starter, Nagy said, “Yes, it is the case. Andy had six plays [against the Dolphins on Saturday], so we’re going to get him some more snaps this coming preseason game. With Justin, we want to be able to see live plays, live situations and he got that [against the Dolphins] and he did a great job.
“So the only thing he can do is continue doing that and then we’ve got to make sure that that plan allows us to evaluate how well he does, knowing the circumstances. Ultimately, whatever is best for the Chicago Bears is what we’re going to do.”
Dalton played two series against the Dolphins with the first-team offense — which was missing several starters — with two three-and-outs and a net of 14 yards on seven snaps. Fields started slowly but led three scoring drives for 17 unanswered points. He completed 14-of-20 passes for 142 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for a 106.7 passer rating. He also rushed for 33 yards on five carries, including a nifty eight-yard touchdown on a scramble.
That performance has earned him a better look, which means more first-team reps this week.
“I think that’s real,” Nagy said. “You need to look into that. Not so much to see that with his own players — because he gets some of that [experience] in practice right now. But it would be good to see what he does versus the first-team defense.”
