Justin Fields is tired of The Bears almost there after a loss. It was then standing on the dais still partially in uniform after Thursday night’s 12-7 loss to the Washington Commanders. The grass stains all over his white pants were a result of the numerous hits he took during the game.
We’re “Nearly There,” we’re Told: Fields Said
We’re told ‘we’re nearly there,'” Fields said. I’m sick and weary of being so close but so far away. So weary of always having to settle for this closeness. Seems like I’ve been hearing this for ages. All you can do at the end of the day is go right back to work.
You can only respond in that way. Life is a school of hard knocks. Simply return the next week and maintain your progress.
Chicago’s failure to score on three trips inside the red zone was the deciding factor in the defeat to the Commanders, the second time in three games that this has occurred. In Week 4, the Bears lost 20-12 on the road against the New York Giants despite going 0 for 3 in the red zone.
On Chicago’s second possession of the game, Fields threw his first red zone interception at the Washington 5-yard line.
The Bears then drove down to the 1-yard line of the Commanders’ end zone, helped in large part by a 64-yard rush by Khalil Herbert on the opening play of the drive. On fourth down, Herbert was unable to punch the ball in.
On Chicago’s last drive, Fields had the greatest run of his career, a scramble for 39 yards, putting the Bears inside the red zone.
Fields launched a throw to Darnell Mooney on fourth down and four within the 5-yard line, but the ball struck the receiver in the chest as his body was crossing the goal line. Mooney dropped the ball as he was about to cross the goal line because of a wobble.
The Quarterback Addressed the Team’s Red-Zone Difficulties
The quarterback gave a direct response to the team’s recurrent problems in the red zone. Make the play when you can, as Fields put it. Put simply. In this case, logistics play no role. That’s not a hard thing to figure out.
If and when you reach that point, seize the moment, and conclude. That’s how easy it is. Sorry, but we didn’t do that tonight. You don’t have to make it tougher than it is, pitch and catch.”
Nonetheless, Fields was left stewing over a single play long after the game ended. Second down and three from the Washington 3-yard line, Next Gen Stats shows that Fields and Ryan Griffin were unable to make a catch despite the experienced tight end having 4.05 yards of space.
“The one that’s getting me upset is the one to Griff in the end zone,” Fields added. While he might have run further farther, he is now completely exposed. I have to make that play. I’m an NFL quarterback.
I have to make that shot. The Bears are the second team this year to have at least 390 yards of offense and fewer than 10 points, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Fields completed 14-of-27 for 190 yards, a score, and an interception.
Mooney had the most catches (7) and the second-most targets (12) for the Bears and was second in receiving yards (68).
As a team, Fields and the offense were unable to build off of a solid second half in Week 5’s defeat to the Minnesota Vikings when the quarterback put the Bears in position late after scoring 19 unanswered points.
In Coach Matt Eberflus’s Opinion, Fields’
Despite the Bears’ loss to the Vikings on Sunday, coach Matt Eberflus didn’t think Fields’ performance a week later was a regression. According to Eberflus, “I believe he made a stride ahead.”
And I mean that. Because of the resilience. The ability to grab the ball and drive it down in the last seconds to give us a chance to win was, to me, the key development. OK? Have there been any additional instances when the offense might use some help? Sure.
But if we insert the disks we took with us, things change dramatically. For that keeping score, that’s 21. As a result, I found it quite motivational to see him come from behind in the end and beat us for the victory.
Once again, we were unsuccessful. We need to step it up for the next one. As of right now, Fields’ NFL statistics (completion percentage, off-target percentage, sack percentage, and pressure percentage) are the worst of any starting quarterback in the league.
He has the 31st-highest proportion of interceptions and the lowest percentage of completions over expectations (-10.7% and 4.3%, respectively).
The Bears have thrown 115 passes as a team so far this season, the fewest by any team through six games since the 1982 Patriots.
Fields were hesitant to get up from the ground in between plays on Friday because he had taken numerous hard knocks on Thursday. While the quarterback claimed after the game that he had worsened an ailment to his left shoulder. He did not clarify whether the original injury had occurred against the Commanders or in a different game.
Finishing Line
Fields faced 18 pressures from the Washington offense, which is tied for his highest total ever. This is the greatest rate of pressure a quarterback has faced through the first six games of a season since ESPN started monitoring pressures in 2009.
In the third quarter, the Bears’ left guard Lucas Patrick and right guard Teven Jenkins both went down with injuries but eventually returned to the game. Asked whether the Bears needed to review the offensive line during their mini-bye week.
Eberflus indicated that adjustments may be made across the board. We’re going to take a look at everything again,” Eberflus added. From the plan to the players, everything has to be perfect. We plan to excel at it shortly.
And we’re going to make sure that the players hear it. It could be something as simple as rearranging the starting lineup, or it could be as complex as evaluating where the team stands in terms of technique, fundamentals, all, scheme, and how we’re running certain plays. Who we’re getting the ball to, what we’re doing well, and what we need to improve on.