1. Player in the spotlight
Bears quarterback Trevor Siemian
With uncertainty surrounding Fields’ left shoulder injury, the Bears might be leaning toward giving Siemian the emergency start Sunday. The offense has been readying for that possibility since the week began with players feeling confident they will be able to adapt without much issue. The team on Friday listed Fields as questionable after he was limited again in practice.
Yes, the Bears’ offensive style will look much different if Siemian starts instead of Fields.
Said tight end Cole Kmet: “I don’t know if Trevor is going to be popping off any 65-yard runs. And he’s OK with me saying that. I mean, obviously (the offense) changes a little bit. They’re different types of players.”
With Fields starting the first 11 games and the Bears establishing a run-heavy identity, they have the NFL’s No. 1 rushing attack, averaging 197.9 yards per game on the ground with Fields leading the team with 834 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. But the Bears are also dead last in passing, averaging 128.1 yards per game through the air while allowing a leaguehigh 40 sacks. (The Atlanta Falcons are the only other team with more rushing yards than net passing yards.)
At the very least, it would be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Luke Getsy would adapt the game plan with Siemian as his starter.
“I think that would be a pretty easy transition,” coach Matt Eberflus said earlier this week. “Trevor is obviously a very smart individual and a very good passer. He has a great grasp of the offense. He’s been here since Day 1. (He has) high functional intelligence.”
Added Kmet: “He’s poised. He has obviously been around the league, seen a lot of different things. He’s a smart guy.”
Having to make a quarterback change — for whatever reason — is nothing new at Halas Hall. Kmet, in his third season, has been through seven in-season quarterback changes during his career.
“I’ve become accustomed to it,” he said. “Not saying that’s a good thing. You just learn to deal with it. You focus on your job and the things you need to take care of . ... It’s part of the league and part of the situation you’re in.”
2. Pressing question
Can the Bears offense make plays against a top 10 Jets defense?
Even if there wasn’t a question of Fields’ ability to play with a shoulder injury, the Jets defense would be a tough test for a still developing Bears offense.
“Probably one of the of best defenses we’ve played this year,” wide receiver Darnell Mooney said.
The Jets allow just 310.5 yards and 18.6 points per game, both in the top 10 in the league. They have totaled 32 sacks, led by Quinnen Williams’ eight and Carl Lawson’s five. They have 14 takeaways, including 11 interceptions, led by Lamarcus Joyner’s three.
“This front seven is the real deal,” Getsy said. “It’s why they’re having so much success this year.”
Bears wide receiver Dante Pettis played for the San Francisco 49ers when Jets coach Robert Saleh was the defensive coordinator there and said praised the scheme.
“Everybody knows where they’re supposed to fit into the defense’s puzzle piece, and they just play their roles well,” Pettis said. “They’ve got a lot of good players on defense.”
Cornerback Sauce Gardner is a defensive rookie of the year candidate with two interceptions and 14 passes defended. Fifth-year cornerback D.J. Reed is second with seven passes defended.
“The rookie doesn’t play like a rookie,” Pettis said. “He has some really good footwork and good patience. And I’ve played with D.J., I’ve known him for a little bit. He just keeps getting better. He never quits on a play, so that’s always tough. You think you have him beat, and he’ll come in at the last minute and poke the ball out. So they’re good players, and it’s going to be fun.”
3. Keep an eye on…
Jets quarterback Mike White The Jets are dealing with their own quarterback chaos this week after benching 2021 No. 2 pick Zach Wilson, who completed just nine passes for 77 yards in a 10-3 loss to the New England Patriots last weekend.
White, a Dallas Cowboys fifthround pick in 2018, will make his fourth career start Sunday. He started three games in 2021 when Wilson was injured, throwing for 405 yards in his first start in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
But the Jets lost the next two games under White, including a four-interception performance in a 45-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Eberflus said the Bears must change their preparation for a different style of quarterback play.
“(Wilson) has the ability to escape — not to say that Mike doesn’t,” Eberflus said. “(Wilson) can move. He’s an athlete. He can do the keepers, a lot of things on the edge of the defense, where Mike is more really good at passing. He’s more of a pocket guy.”
Saleh told reporters the Jets intend to get Wilson back on the field this season — but it won’t be Sunday. Joe Flacco will be the Jets backup with Wilson inactive.
“There are some basic fundamental things that have gotten really out of whack for (Wilson),” Saleh said. “This is just an opportunity for him to sit back, focus on those things and find a way to reconnect with all the different things we fell in love with during the draft process. It’s something I feel like he’ll be able to do.”
4. Return policy
The Bears have gotten into a bad habit of gifting points recently with opponents scoring a return touchdown in each of the last four games.
It started with Micah Parsons’ 36-yard fumble return score in the Dallas Cowboys’ 49-29 blowout win in Week 8, a pivot point that effectively halted the Bears’ comeback attempt. The following week, Andrew Van Ginkel blocked a Trent Gill punt and rumbled 25 yards for a score that put the Miami Dolphins ahead 21-10 in their eventual three-point victory.
In Week 10, Detroit Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah came up with a game-tying 20-yard interception return TD on an errant Fields screen pass. Last week, former Bear Cordarrelle Patterson rumbled 103 yards for a kickoff return score, setting a new NFL record for career kickoff return touchdowns with his ninth.
“Obviously the guy made a heck of a play. But we had a couple guys get out of position,” Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said. “We corrected it in the meeting room. Obviously, we’re not going to act like it didn’t happen. We’ve got to be better there.”
The Bears are now 1-6 this season in games decided by one score. It isn’t helping that they’ve found ways to beat themselves with costly mistakes that turn into touchdowns going the other way.
5. Injury report
In addition to Fields’ injury, strong safety Jaquan Brisker, cornerback Kyler Gordon and reserve linebacker Sterling Weatherford — a core special teams player — were ruled out. The three rookies are all in the concussion protocol.
DeAndre Houston-Carson is likely to replace Brisker, and Kindle Vildor is expected to start in Gordon’s spot. Rookie Jaylon Jones has been the backup slot cornerback, so he’s a good bet to play in that role. No other Bears players received an injury designation.
For the Jets, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (elbow) is out, while tight end Kenny Yeboah (calf ) is doubtful and offensive tackle Duane Brown (shoulder) is questionable. reveal their intentions.
Fields’ injury is a reminder of the risk the Bears have with a dualthreat quarterback being exposed to defenders. He has 122 carries — 46 in the last three games — and when you add in the sacks and hits, that’s a lot of collisions.
Fields last season missed two games with a rib injury suffered on a third-down scramble in a Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
He returned to start two more games before an ankle injury in a Week 15 loss to the Minnesota Vikings sidelined him for two more games. He was in line to return for the season finale at Minnesota before he was placed on the COVID-19/reserve list.
Now the Bears are playing the waiting game — or making everyone else wait — before selecting Sunday’s starter.
“My preference is for (Fields) to play if he’s 100 percent ready,” Eberflus said.