Fantastic finish
Fields’ final preseason play is a TD pass vs. Titans. Now the wait begins.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Justin Fields darted to the right out of the pocket and focused on the Nissan Stadium end zone as Titans defensive lineman Teair Tart chased him.
The Chicago Bears rookie quarterback saw tight end Jesper Horsted between two defenders and fired the pass, which Horsted reached to grab before he rolled out of the end zone.
The 20-yard touchdown pass with 52 seconds to play in the second quarter was Fields’ final play of his first NFL preseason. It was a nice ending to an otherwise modest outing, something for Bears fans to hold on to until they see the first-round pick in game action again.
That date is marked as TBD.
After Fields completed 7 of 10 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 13 yards on two carries in a 27-24 victory over the Titans, he returns to Lake Forest as the backup to Andy Dalton. Bears coach Matt Nagy has pledged over and over again to start the veteran Dalton in the season opener Sept. 12 against the Rams, and Fields’ performance in the third preseason game wasn’t going to change that.
“He’s done a lot of great things,” Nagy said
of Fields’ preseason as a whole. “With our situation, with where Andy’s at and where he’s at, he’s done everything he can to make us feel good that if we were to put him in a game or had to put him in the game, that he would be fine.”
The preseason finale can be a big moment for players on the roster bubble trying to make one more good impression, but it most often leaves fans wanting more as starters sit to stay healthy with the season looming. And fans were left wanting more of Fields, more so because of the players who didn’t play with him Saturday.
Fields played behind the starting offensive line, which saw its first game action together after early injuries to right tackle Germain Ifedi and right guard James Daniels and the late arrival of left tackle Jason Peters.
But most of the other Bears starters sat out with Dalton. Fields wasn’t hitting Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet or Jimmy Graham with crucial passes or handing off to David Montgomery. He was playing, as he has all preseason, with backups such as wide receivers Rodney Adams and Riley Ridley and running back Khalil Herbert.
All three have made big plays this preseason, but it remains unknown what Fields might look like with Bears starters.
The touchdown drive was helped by two Titans penalties, starting with a defensive pass interference call on safety Matthias Farley on a long pass to Horsted. Fields then hit Adams for a 7-yard pass, and Titans cornerback Breon Borders slammed Adams down on the tackle, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty. Fields threw the touchdown pass on the next play.
“He made a great throw, and Jesper made a heck of a catch,” Nagy said. “The one thing about Justin he does a great job with is he keeps his eyes downfield. It would be so easy when you run 4.4 (in the 40) … I know if I was 4.4, I would be running all the time to know how that feels. But he’s staying up. He’s throwing that ball. He did a great job, and Jesper made a great catch.”
Before that, Fields’ most exciting play was wiped out on a Titans challenge. On third-and-8 on the Bears’ third drive, he threw 11 yards to Adams, who dived to catch the ball as he tumbled out of bounds. It originally was ruled a catch, but replay showed Adams’ elbow hit out of bounds before he completed the catch.
Playing behind the starting line didn’t help Fields on the first drive, when the Bears went three-andout. On third-and-4 at the 20, Titans linebackers Ola Adeniyi and Derick Roberson combined to sack Fields for a loss of 7.
Fields hit Adams for a 7-yard pass for the first Bears first down of the game on the second drive. But after a 1-yard pass to Adams, a 7-yard pass to Ridley and a 1-yard gain by Damien Williams, the Titans stopped Williams for no gain on fourth-and-1.