People have said for months that the best the Chicago Bears could hope for was that Justin Fields might make the same leap as Jalen Hurts. That is to say, he can go from a run-first quarterback to a genuine dual threat that is a capable passer. The team would merely have to give him a solid offensive line and talented receivers. Some weren’t enthusiastic about that idea. While Hurts had made excellent strides in 2022, people weren’t willing to accept that a player of his style could win a Super Bowl.
Then those people watched the game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Arizona. While Patrick Mahomes won Super Bowl MVP, nobody can deny Hurts was the best player on the field. He finished with 304 yards passing, 70 yards rushing, and four total touchdowns. If not for a rough outing by the Eagles defense in the second half and a special teams breakdown, he would likely be a championship-winning quarterback right now.
It was a game that should be encouraging for the Bears. Now they know. If Hurts can do it, so can Fields.
Fields can already run like Jalen Hurts.
He may not have the raw strength, but he has way more speed and similar natural instincts. The big hurdle to clear is passing the ball. Hurts had a modest season in 2021 as a passer, going for barely 3000 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Rather than second-guess whether they should commit to him, Philadelphia attacked the 2022 off-season with a clear objective. Find him more help. They did that by trading for Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans. That addition proved the difference. Hurts finished with 3700 yards passing, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Couple with 700 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns on the ground, he was an MVP contender for a reason.
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Fields has all of the same capability. He’s a great runner and has an even better arm than Jalen Hurts. His leadership isn’t questioned, nor is his work ethic. The critical difference is the supporting cast. Chicago doesn’t have anything close to Brown, DeVonta Smith, Lane Johnson, or Jason Kelce. What they do have is tons of salary cap space and the #1 overall pick in the draft. They have a chance to do what the Eagles did and commit to a guy they believe in. Hurts proved winning a championship is possible with a quarterback “like him.” It falls to GM Ryan Poles to follow the blueprint.
It wasn’t intended that Justin Fields would be a run first quarterback. However, he became that when Luke Getsy realized how weak his offensive line was and how good Justin was a running. Next year they hope to have an improved OL and we’ll just see how good Justin performs behind them.
Dr. Martin Melhus, PhD — Locker room speeches are most effective when delivered by an impassioned, team leader. Patrick Mahomes is that by virtually everyone’s standard. And the Kansas City Star reports that it was Mahomes, that delivered the message to “wake the (team) up!” And, they responded, accordingly. Remember, in today’s NFL, play selection is made by coaches, and transmitted to the QB, via the helmet receiver. Coaches handle the “X’s and O’s” — but on the field, Patrick’s got the “Jimmys and the Joes.” Patrick Mahomes is not the most physically gifted QB in the NFL. But, he… Read more »
I agree with Erik that Fields is faster than Hurts, and has a better arm. Fields lags Hurts in seeing receivers, understanding the defense, and the mental part of being a QB. The mental part can be learned (but is not always learned); you can’t teach speed or arm strength. Hurts is also better at the QB sneak because he’s freakishly strong in the legs. When you make something like 94% of your 1 yard to go first downs/TDs, it’s easy to go for it on 4th down. Thomas Gena: This Superbowl was a game of two halves. The Chiefs… Read more »
Hurts and Fields are two very different QB that just share the ability to run fast.
Hey Erik, Maybe you didn’t see a guy named Mahomes on that field, last night? If Justin were to follow the Patrick Paradigm he would: ▪︎ target nine different eligible receivers — and complete passes to seven of them ▪︎ overcome being pressured on 25.9% of his dropbacks — and would not be sacked once ▪︎. release the ball “on-time” and “on-target” NextGenStats listed Mahomes’ time-to-throw (TTT) as 2.69 seconds in this game — and he completed 21 of 27 passes (two of his incompletions were throwaways) so he essentially hit on 84 percent of his throws ▪︎ keep moving… Read more »