Whenever the topic of Justin Fields comes up in the Chicago Bears locker room, teammates have been especially vocal about the idea of moving away from him. Jaylon Johnson, D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Lucas Patrick have all stated that moving on from the 24-year-old would be foolish. He is the unquestioned top dog on offense. When he goes, the team goes. That was true again on Sunday as he compiled 267 total yards and two touchdowns in a 27-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough. People have wondered how Fields has generated such devotion from teammates like this. During his post-game press conference, he provided a glimpse when asked about yet another game with below-average passing totals. Fields, in his usual even-keel way, made his priorities clear.
“I’m cool with whatever as long as we win the game. … Shoot, if I have 100 passing yards with zero touchdowns and we get the win, I’m cool with that. I know people love stats. … I’m not really a numbers guy. All I know is one win went up in the win column today, and that’s all I care about.”
This reinforces the same message Fields has sent since he arrived. Winning is all that matters to him. Nothing else. His loyalty doesn’t extend to just his teammates too. When asked about the offensive playcalling during the offense’s lull in the second half, Fields put the blame on himself and the other players for not executing correctly.
He has full command of that locker room. Nobody can dispute that. Teammates love him and play hard for him. There continue to be flashes of playmaking ability. His ongoing issue is lacking consistency. He still misses too many of the layup throws and opens himself up to unnecessary hits and sacks. There has been some improvement from last year, but not enough. It’s not like he lacks help. The running game is still strong. His pass protection has been better. D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet are excellent weapons. It is hard to understand why he can’t quite turn the corner as a pocket passer.
There are two conclusions to draw. Either Justin Fields simply doesn’t have the vision and processing speed to be that guy, or Luke Getsy isn’t doing a good enough job helping make life easier for him. GM Ryan Poles must find the answer to that question before next March. Nobody can argue Fields has the presence to be a locker room leader for this team. It comes down to whether he can execute at a high level against good teams. Either the Bears don’t think he can, or they will gamble that another coaching change might finally do it.
