Few quarterbacks face more pressure to perform over the final three weeks of the season than Justin Fields. What makes it worse for the Chicago Bears starter is there isn’t much incentive beyond survival. The loss last week crushed what limited playoff hopes the team still had. Now Fields has to perform well in the final three games to show the organization he can still be their guy beyond 2023. He remains confident he’s done enough to justify more time. Plenty of other people don’t see it that way.
His performance in money situations remains poor. Twice last week, he had a chance to drive the Bears into field goal range and instead had to settle for Hail Mary throws. Both were intercepted. He has zero touchdowns and four interceptions in situations where the Bears trailed with four minutes or less to play. That isn’t something franchise quarterbacks are known for.
Now he has to bounce back from that brutal collapse against Cleveland to take on the Arizona Cardinals. On paper, this should be an easy win for Chicago. This opponent allows the second-most points in the NFL and has the second-worst run defense. A dual-threat quarterback like Fields should be able to feast on them. If he delivers another underwhelming performance and, god forbid, the Bears lose? It might be the killing blow for him.
Justin Fields can’t afford a misstep.
If he beats the Cardinals on Sunday, all he’ll get is a congratulations on something he was supposed to do. The Bears are a better football team than Arizona. They have plenty of matchup advantages. On the other hand, if they lose at home to a team with one of the worst records in the league, the blame will fall squarely on Fields. Kyler Murray doesn’t have the same array of weapons he does. If he still finds a way to win, that will be yet another indication the Bears don’t have the right guy.
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This is not the situation Justin Fields had hoped to find himself in. Questions remain about his viability as a long-term answer. Nobody doubts his outstanding physical gifts. The problem is he hasn’t been able to harness them enough. There are flashes from time to time. He can produce WOW plays two or three times a game. Unfortunately, in between those moments is a lot of inconsistency. Unless he somehow corrects those problems in the final three weeks, his case to stay may not be strong enough.
