Justin Fields has been playing like one of the best Quarterbacks in the NFL for the past month. He’s been doing this against New England, Dallas, Miami, and Detroit. Some good defenses, some bad ones. While the Bears are 1-3 since Fields has been playing at this level, Fields is not the reason they aren’t winning games. As a matter of fact, Fields is the only reason they are in these games, at least that’s how I see it.
Week after week now, Fields is setting some kind of record or winning some kind of award. Whether it be the 2 longest runs by a QB in Bears history, NFC Offensive Player of the Week, FedEx Ground Player of the Week, and most notably, most rushing yards in a regular season game by a Quarterback.
The opportunities ahead look intriguing too. The Bears play against Atlanta and Green Bay over the next 3 weeks. But games against the Jets, Bills, and Eagles will be tests for him, as those are some of the best defenses in the league. If Fields plays well against those great defenses, then Bears fans will get more excited, and that excitement would definitely be warranted.
What we’re seeing from Fields is extremely rare. He’s had an in-season turnaround. So what caused this flip in play?
Well, you can look back at 3 different phases of the season. Weeks 1-3 were awful all the way around. He was bad, the Offensive line was bad, the Receivers and Tight Ends were bad, and probably most importantly, the playcalling was bad. Weeks 4-6 were a slight improvement. The playcalling was a little bit better, Fields himself was better, but the Offensive Line and Receivers were still horrible. After week 6 against Washington, the Bears had 10 days in between games from a Thursday Night to a Monday Night a week and a half later in New England.
The New England game was a dawn of a new era of Chicago Bears football. The Bears coaching staff used the off time to make major offensive adjustments. More designed runs, which allows for more play action, which gets Fields on the move, which is when he’s at his best even as a passer. Not only was he great in this game, but he’s been great in the 3 games after.
Luke Getsy is calling plays and using concepts used by the Ravens with Lamar Jackson, the Bills with Josh Allen, and the Texans when they had Deshaun Watson. Having an offensive playcaller who is willing to admit that his scheme is not perfect is quite refreshing. It’s refreshing because it’s something the Bears didn’t have in former Head Coach Matt Nagy, who had a ”My way or the highway” attitude.
Justin Fields is still not a perfect Quarterback. He’s not an elite passer yet. However, he displays the things you want to see when throwing the ball. Pocket presence, footwork, and accuracy are all there. He does have moments where there are lapses in these areas, which is expected as a second year Quarterback.
He is a top 2 rushing Quarterback in football, right with Lamar Jackson. Fields is actually on pace to break Jackson’s Quarterback rushing record, which he achieved in his MVP season.
Lamar Jackson proved you don’t have to put up elite passing yardage numbers to win league MVP, as he had only 3,127 passing yards. However, he did have 1,206 rushing yards, which was the backbone to his MVP award, and that’s why I give Fields a very legit chance to win the NFL MVP award in 2023, once the Bears improve their roster.
