The Chicago Bears won their first game of the 2021 season on Sunday defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in a 20-17 victory. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields played for the injured Andy Dalton in the second quarter assisting in Chicago’s win. Despite the calls for Fields to become the permanent starter moving forward, it is Dalton that should be the starting quarterback if healthy.

Sources: #Bears QB Andy Dalton had his MRI and it confirmed a bone bruise in his knee. No official determination has been made about his status this week.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 20, 2021

Dalton Has Proven He Can Be Successful As The Bears’ Starting Quarterback

Heading into Sunday’s game against the Bengals, all the pressure was on Dalton to have success with the Bears offense. The former Pro Bowl quarterback did just that as he led Chicago’s offense to a touchdown on their opening drive of the game, throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Allen Robinson. Leading up to his knee injury in the second quarter, Dalton was moving the ball for the Bears as he completed 9 of 11 passes for 56 yards. The quarterback also scrambled for 25 yards extending the Bears’ second offensive drive of the game.

Dalton appears to have a full grasp of the Bears offense as he is making the right reads and has repeatedly found the open man. Chicago’s offense featured more deep pass attempts as Darnell Mooney hauled in a 17-yard catch on the opening scoring drive. One terrific aspect with Dalton at quarterback is that he continues to spread the ball around as he completed passes to four different receivers during the time he played before getting hurt. Through two games, Chicago’s starting quarterback has led the offense on four drives of 50 yards or longer and has yet to have a three and out this season.

Andy Dalton with an 11 yd TD pass to Allen Robinson. Nice 75-yard drive to open the game. Converted three 3rd downs along the way. #Bears lead 7-0, 9:58 remaining 1st qtr.

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) September 19, 2021

When the Bears addressed the quarterback position in the offseason, it was vital to find a quarterback that could sustain drives, something Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles failed to do in 2020. Dalton has done just that as he is doing all the right things within the Bears’ offense. Outside of his interception on the opening drive of the season against the Rams, the veteran quarterback has not thrown a pass that was in danger of being intercepted. Dalton’s ability to sustain drives and protect the ball is paramount for a Chicago team that needs to make the playoffs this season.

Although many believe Justin Fields deserves to be the starter moving forward, Sunday’s game demonstrated why it was the little things that made Dalton the quarterback to start the season. The Ohio State quarterback didn’t look overmatched or overwhelmed but did demonstrate moments of inexperience. Fields was flagged twice for false start penalties as he flinched, waiting for the center to snap the ball.

Justin Fields Made Rookie Mistake That Nearly Proved To Be Costly.

When Fields came on for Dalton, the rookie quarterback did not struggle with the larger aspects of the game but with the little ones. The Ohio State quarterback threw a critical interception late in the game and nearly lost a fumble that would have led to a score had the Bengals’ defense recovered it. In Fields’ attempt to evade pressure, he failed to protect the ball with two hands, which led to the fumble that he later recovered. With the interception late in the fourth quarter, the Bengals defense disguised coverage as Cincinnati dropped linebacker Logan Wilson back into pass coverage. The drop into pass coverage allowed Wilson to step in front of the pass intended for wide receiver Marquise Goodwin.

#Bears QB Justin Fields said his interception was a great call by the defense, but it's something he's got to see.

— Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. (@wiltfongjr) September 19, 2021

Fields demonstrated an understanding of the playbook and was accurate with a majority of his throws. Bears’ receivers let him down as Mooney, Goodwin, and Robinson all dropped completions that would have been for 15 yards or longer. Despite the dropped passes from his receivers, Fields failed to get the Bears into the end zone as Chicago had two of their fourth-quarter drives start in Cincinnati territory.

The struggle to get the Bears into the end zone on the quarterback’s part is what enabled the Bengals to make the game closer than what it should have been. Following Angelo Blackson’s interception, the Bears’ offense had the ball at the Bengals’ 9 yard-line, settling for a field goal. In the third quarter, Fields led the Bears’ offense to the Bengals’ 5-yard line, but due to a false start of his own doing, pushed the offense back to the 10-yard line and again was forced to settle for a field goal.

Another false start by Justin Fields…

He’s shown some real promise on this drive, but you can’t make that same mistake twice. #Bears

— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) September 19, 2021

It is these small mistakes at the quarterback position that provide the logic for the Bears to star Dalton over Fields if the veteran is healthy. Unlike other teams that have rookie quarterbacks starting, the Bears’ front office and the coaching staff need to make the playoffs. Chicago’s roster isn’t good enough to overcome costly mistakes, and those mistakes could pile up with a rookie quarterback. Through six quarters of play, Dalton has demonstrated that he is doing all the little things to be successful at the quarterback position, something that Fields needs time to improve on.

Bears win a nail biter. Chicago Sports radio is going to have to change their narrative this week because while Fields has a bright future, he clearly isn’t ready to be full time starter

— Greg Gabriel (@greggabe) September 19, 2021

Although Dalton doesn’t have the talent to make the big-play throws that Fields can make, the veteran quarterback can still make all the right throws. At the start of Sunday’s game against the Bengals, the Bears’ starting quarterback responded to a hostile environment by leading the offense to an opening drive score. If healthy, Dalton should be Chicago’s starting quarterback to allow Fields more time to work to clean up the detailed aspects of the quarterback position.