2 special TDs, 1 frustrating loss
Roller coaster continues for Fields with signs of growth more evident
An encouraging individual performance. A dispiriting team loss.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields left Soldier Field on Sunday evening with both of those things, trying his best to appreciate his development while still disappointed with his team’s continued failures.
The Bears lost to the San Francisco 49ers 33-22, unable to seize a winnable home game against a floundering opponent that hadn’t won in 42 days. For Fields, the current three-game skid and a 2-4 mark in games he has started have the potential to become disconcerting. He is being subjected to a losing frequency he never has experienced.
Yet on the way out of Soldier Field, Fields asserted he’s more than equipped to handle the turbulence.
“It’s just literally going back to work, going back to work, going back to work,” Fields said. “That’s it. Sometimesyou can’ t control things in life. And you’ve just got to keep doing it, keep doing it, keep doing it. That’s what I’m going to do. Just keep going.”
Fields is in the thick of it now, fully immersed in the grind of being an NFL starting quarterback while still acclimating himself to the standard rookie experience in which growth and struggle so often tango.
So how is Fields’ latest performance being assessed at Halas Hall? He rushed for 103 yards, the majority on off-script scrambles. That included one breathtaking touchdown run in the fourth quarter. More on that shortly.
Fields also threw for 175 yards and a touchdown, completing 19 of 27 passes and showing an improved sense of calm with all that was happening around him.
“That was by far his best game in terms of his footwork and his rhythm,” DeFilippo said. “And he got the ball out on time.”
Bears coach Matt Nagy was additionally impressed with Fields’ decision making plus the vibe and energy he emanated.
“That’s great for our offense, it’s great for our team,” Nagy said. “There was growth there for him. So I’m looking forward to really seeing him continue with that confidence.”
Fields will continue in
Week 9 with a Monday night road test against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Step by step, he is making his climb.
“It’s really fun to watch the maturation happen right before your eyes,” DeFilippo said. “Because you have a player who’s not only really good but who is really willing and wants to be coached.”
Before turning the page, here’s our Week 8 QB rewind.
Defining moment: Tight end Jesse James began Sunday’s most exciting play in blocking mode, part of the misdirection the Bears were utilizing on a critical fourthand-inches opportunity with 9:44 remaining. So when James noticed Fields improvising out of desperation and reversing from the direction of the original play design, he was caught a bit off guard.
Much like the 60,877 fans in attendance, James also was intrigued to see what would happen next.
“I just started to run with him to find someone to block,” James said.
Fields already was making something happen all on his own, delivering a jaw-dropping 22-yard touchdown run that proved to be the afternoon’s most electrifying moment.
“I haven’t seen a play like that in a long, long time,” James said. “Special.”
Added Fields: “It’s just all instincts right there.”
For the full detail on the play, start with DeFilippo, whose worry elevated once the Bears broke their huddle and couldn’t get lined up properly. DeFilippo’s eyes immediately went to the play clock.
12…11…10…9…
With James and fellow tight end Cole Kmet scrambling to get realigned and wide receiver Darnell Mooney showing signs of confusion, DeFilippo feared Fields might have to burn a timeout unnecessarily at a critical stage late in a close game. But then he saw his young quarterback making the needed fixes and redirecting Mooney to the right side.
“Another sign of maturation,” DeFilippo said, praising Fields for using sharp “firstwide vision” to get everything settled before the snap.
“He did a great job of making sure not only that we got straight, but that we were legal. Because we had to make sure everyone was set and then send the jet motion (with
Mooney) back across. There was a lot going on there that he did a nice job of handling.”
From there, Fields took a snap from under center and faked the jet sweep to Mooney. Then he rolled right for what the Bears hoped would be an easy completion to running back Khalil Herbert in the flat.
But 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley appeared flummoxed by the Bears’ pre-snap disorder. And while seemingly failing to follow Mooney in his man coverage assignment, Moseley may have serendipitously meandered right into blanketing Herbert, who otherwise would have been wide open for an easy first down.
Stuff happens, right? Defensive end Arik Armstead, meanwhile, burst off the snap, never bit on the fake to Mooney and attacked Fields, squaring him up for what looked like it could be a drive-stopping sack.
Your move, Justin. Or should we say moves.
Fields stopped on a dime, evaded Armstead 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage, then took off back to his left to avoid defensive lineman Kevin Givens. Linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles had a shot at Fields but whiffed on a diving tackle attempt.
With green grass to his left, Fields coasted across the line to gain, then kept going.
Speed. Vision. Playmaking artistry.
In 12 seconds, the rookie quarterback turned a demoralizing turnover on downs into a tide-turning touchdown.
The run itself was brilliant, the kind of fireworks show the NFL’s best quarterbacks deliver even after a play breaks down. The significance of the run was heightened given the situation, with the Bears facing fourth down and trailing by a touchdown deep into the fourth quarter.
“I told him, ‘Man, you went nuts on that play,’ ” Mooney said. “It was crazy. He was going back to pee-wee days on that one.”
Added DeFilippo: “That’s a generational-type run. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
For the Bears, things could have gotten much better had that play become the catalyst for a needed victory. Instead, Cairo Santos missed the PAT, the defense gave up a touchdown less than 3 minutes later and a field goal on the series after that, and the Bears swallowed their third consecutive double-digit loss.
But there was something to build off with Fields’ playmaking prowess offering a reminder of how much energy his contributions can create. For an offense. For a team. Inside an entire stadium.
Uh-oh: The Bears missed a golden opportunity to take control on the first possession of the third quarter. Leading 13-9, they marched inside the 49ers 10-yard line and had first-and-goal at the 5. But a first-down running play to Herbert was swallowed for a loss of 4. Fields got half of that back on a checkdown to Herbert, then failed to connect with Kmet in the end zone on third-and-goal from the 7.
With Kmet matched in man coverage against linebacker Fred Warner, Fields fired toward the tight end’s back shoulder in the back of the end zone. But Kmet’s attempt to snatch the pass with his right hand failed.
Kmet might have had an opportunity to get an extra step into Warner on his route, thus creating more space for himself to the outside. In live action, it also appeared as if Fields’ pass had a bit too much mustard on it, a fastball that would have been hard for anyone to snare cleanly.
The Bears settled for Cairo Santos’ 25-yard field goal on that series, taking a 16-9 lead after a 13-play, 62-yard march that probably should have finished with a touchdown. Those are the little things Fields and the offense need to clean up as fast as possible.
Earlier, on their final possession of the first half, the Bears had a 16-play, 57-yard drive that chewed up more than 8 minutes. But that, too, ended with a Santos field goal from 40 yards.
A third-and-6 play immediately before that kick lost 6 yards when cornerback
K’Waun Williams devoured a screen to Herbert.
Nagy insinuated Monday that might have been one call offensive coordinator Bill Lazor would have wanted back.
“With that down and distance, third-and-6, you always look back and say, OK, could we have called a different play?” Nagy said. “But they made a good play and you have to give them credit for that. “
Whatever the case, the Bears twice left points on the table inside the red zone. Those possessions could have changed the momentum and flow of the game. At this stage, with the margin for error the Bears are operating with, the big-picture consequences are heightened.
On the bright side: Fields’ touchdown pass, an 8-yard dart to James in the first half, came on a marvelous throw off of a play-action, naked bootleg to the left. James ran a crisp route, and Fields put the ball in perfect position for his tight end to make a sliding catch.
Most eye-catching was the angle from which Fields threw, rolling against the grain and needing extraordinary body control to fire from an unorthodox arm slot with the velocity and precision required to keep the ball just out of the reach of 49ers cornerback Josh Norman.
“Awesome,” DeFilippo said. “That was a mailbox-type throw. Fantastic.”
After the game, Fields shrugged off the way he had to contort his body to throw a perfect strike when he wasn’t able to set himself.
“You’ve just got to get your body in good position to make that throw,” he said. “I got on the edge clean because their ends were pretty much crashing (down) all day for the run.
But, yeah, you’ve just got to continue to rep it out. The more you rep it out and the more you get comfortable with that, the easier it is to make that throw in the game.”
Perhaps Fields’ “no big deal” description can be interpreted as an encouraging sign, added evidence of his self-confidence and trust in his athleticism and work habits. But make no mistake, Fields’ coaches and teammates were impressed.
“Tough angle for sure,” James said. “He had to work for that a little bit. But we were able to make the play.”
Nagy, who watched that play on TV as he monitored the game from afar during his mandatory COVID-19 isolation, labeled it “a big-time NFL throw.”
“To flip your hips and have the accuracy to be able to put (the football) literally an inch outside the defender’s hands to the only place Jesse could catch the football? Special,” Nagy said. “You love seeing it. I was definitely a fan when that play happened. And it got pretty loud (where I was).”
Not only did Fields have a mailbox-sized window to fit that throw into, he had to launch the pass with his body twisted. At full speed, he used almost a martial-arts style kick of his left leg during his throwing motion to create steadiness and strength.
“Go back and watch it,” DeFilippo said. “Whenever you’re throwing on the run like that, to balance yourself out you’ll have some natural leg kick. Watch his left leg in the air. That has a tendency to balance you.”
Those are the microscopic details Fields and the Bears coaches remain focused on, nuances barely noticeable to outside observers but ones they are practicing over and over again and then applying in games.